Spanish Flag Logo
The Spanish national flag is a tribar, in which the central yellow stripe is surrounded by two red stripes. The stripes are horizontal, and each of the red stripes is half the width of the yellow one. This unusual combination of three bands of varying widths has been nicknamed a Spanish fess.
On the left part of the flag, there is a coat of arms. It is off-centered 1/3 from the hoist. The arms can be placed in the middle if the flag’s length is less than normal.
| Colors | Pantone (approximation) | HEX Code | CIEHLC values | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | C | L | |||
| Yellow | 7406 C | #FABD00 | 85° | 95 | 80 |
| Red | 7628 C | #AD1519 | 35° | 70 | 37 |
History of the Flag
The origin of the current flag is typically traced to the reign of Carlos III of Spain (1759-1788) – it was him who introduced the triband with a wider central stripe. However, the eventual design comprises symbols of various political entities that existed on the territory of Spain more than a thousand years ago.
910 – 1230 (Kingdom of León)
The city of León was founded by Legio VII Gemina, a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It became a separate kingdom when the Asturian king, Alfonso the Great, divided his territories among his sons. León went to García I (910–914), who made it the capital of the kingdom of Astures.
Both the flag and the coat of arms of the Kingdom of León featured a lion with a red tongue and a gold crown. The lion design is believed to have been introduced by Alfonso VII of León, who was made the king of Castile and León in 1126. It is one of the oldest heraldic symbols in Europe.
931 – 1230 (County of Castile, Kingdom of Castile)
The history of Castile stretches beyond AD 800, the date when it was first mentioned. From the first half to the middle of the 9th century, Castile was ruled and defended by Leon. The flag and coat of arms featured a three-towered castle with azure windows and gates. The castle is placed over a red field. This symbol is often attributed to Alfonso VIII of Castile (1155–1214).
1230 – 1716 (Crown of Castile)
Castile and León went through a period of intense rivalry until 1230. It was then that Ferdinand III of Castile, who already had been granted the Kingdom of Castile by his mother in 1217, also received the Kingdom of León. The Crown of Castile was created, which, in addition to the abovementioned political entities, also included taifas and other domains conquered in the course of time.
The flag was a combination of the flags of Castile and León. It was broken down into four fields, two of them occupied by the lion and two of them featuring the castle emblem.
Spanish Monarchy
1516 – 1701
The roots of the Cross of Burgundy are traced to the early 15th century. Back then, it was chosen by the supporters of the Duke of Burgundy in the Armagnac-Burgundian Civil War. The emblem is supposed to represent the cross, on which Andrew the Apostle was crucified. Historians assume one reason for choosing this particular emblem was that St. Andrew was the patron saint of the dukes of Burgundy.
The cross was brought to Spain after the marriage of Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy, to Joanna of Castile in 1496. Having acquired the status of the first Habsburg King of Spain, Philip adopted this cross as his emblem. Previously, it was the symbol of the house of his mother. Its first documented use on standards refers to 1506, when the flag was carried by Philip’s lifeguards.
Starting from the era of Charles I of Spain (1516–1556), various Spanish troops have adopted banners based on the Cross of Burgundy.
1701 – 1759
When Philip V (Duke of Anjou) became King of Spain, he initiated quite a few updates of the royal arms. Firstly, he had his royal coat of arms designed by heraldists Pierre Clairambault and Charles-René d’Hozier, also known as a French historical commentator. Also, Philip V modified the attitude to the flag as such making it the main legitimate symbol of the country.
The flag was based on a white field and included symbols of a whole bunch of smaller states and territories protected by the king, from the already familiar symbols of Castile and León to fleur-de-lis, red and gold stripes, blue and gold stripes, lions and eagles. All these were topped by a crown as the symbol of Philip’s power. While this banner still couldn’t be called a truly national flag, it was a notable attempt.
1759 – 1785
Charles III, the fourth son of Philip V, introduced several modifications. Many of the elements on the coat of arms were still there, and the framing structure was pretty much still in place. However, the size, shape, and arrangement of the pieces have undergone a remarkable transformation.
Also, Charles III suppressed the collar of the Holy Spirit and introduced two new quarters to represent the House of Farnese and Medici. The resulting design became a bit more balanced, with a more pronounced central orientation.
1785 – 1873
At some point, Charles III noticed that, as a rule, European countries had flags dominated by white. As a result, deplorable incidents would sometimes take place during sea battles as it wasn’t that easy to figure out whether a ship in sight belonged to the enemy.
So, Charles III ordered his Minister of the Navy to come up with a range of designs devoid of this disadvantage. Out of the twelve options presented by the Minister, the king singled out a red-yellow-red triband. The full version housed the emblems of Castile and León inside an oval topped by a crown.
What made the flag even more distinctive among those of other European states was the width of the stripes: the central yellow stripe was twice as wide as any of the red stripes. This was also made in a deliberate attempt to avoid confusion.
Some modern-day sources assume that the colors were borrowed from the standard of the Crown of Aragon. However, historians haven’t found any written support for this hypothesis.
1873 – 1874 (the First Spanish Republic)
In 1873, King Amadeo I, who had been facing multiple political difficulties, abdicated from the Spanish throne. The next day, a republic was proclaimed by a parliamentary majority comprised of radicals, republicans and democrats. It is known as the Spanish Republic, or the First Spanish Republic.
Revolutionary as this event was, it almost didn’t touch the national symbols. Just the crown disappeared from the flag, as a reference to the monarchy.
1874 – 1931 (Spanish Monarchy)
In early 1874, as the result of the coup of Pavía, the government was replaced by a praetorian republic led by General Serrano. At the end of the same year, General Arsenio Martínez Campos came out to support the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy suggesting Don Alfonso de Borbón as the ruler. He didn’t meet any real opposition from the government, and the monarchy was restored.
Together with the monarchy, the old flag returned, too. Once again, it featured a crown, to accentuate the power of the king.
1931 – 1939 (the Second Spanish Republic)
After the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, the Republic was declared on 14 April 1931. Over the following two years, the constitutional government introduced a number of reforms.
On May 6, a new flag was presented. It featured three stripes of equal width: red, yellow, and dark purple. Additionally, there was the coat of arms of the Spanish Republic in the center. It combined the emblems of Castile, Leon, Aragon, and Navarre, each occupying one of the four main fields. Also, there was a symbol of Granada and a mural crown. On the right and left, there were two columns (the Pillars of Hercules).
The origins of this coat of arms can be traced to 1868. It represented the Provisional Government and, for several years, the First Spanish Republic.
The flag wasn’t new, too. It had been used throughout the years before the proclamation of the Republic by a variety of Republican groups. They chose it as an alternative to the official flag representing the Bourbon monarchy. With this history, it was only natural that the newly-proclaimed republic instantly switched to this symbol.
Nationalist forces
1936 – 1938
The Spanish Civil War started in 1936 as an opposition between the Republicans and the Nationalists. The latter force went through a couple of flags.
In the summer of 1936, the National Defense Junta introduced a design based on the monarchy flag featuring a thick yellow stripe in the middle and thinner red stripes above and below. The official decree emphasized that it wasn’t a new flag, but the “re-established” old one. The coat of arms on the yellow field, though, looked pretty much like that on the republican flag.
1938 – 1945
As a result of the Spanish Civil War, the republic was dissolved in 1939. Francisco Franco, who led the Nationalists during the Civil War, became the country’s leader. By this point, his party already used a different flag, which had been introduced in 1938.
The triband design remained the same, but the coat of arms now featured the Eagle of Saint John. The emblem is believed to have been inspired by that of the Catholic Monarchs.
1945 – 1977
On October 11, 1945, an updated flag rolled out. The modifications touched only the Saint John eagle. It became larger, with accentuated and better visible details. The overall look of the eagle was more proud and powerful now, due to the position of its head.
1977 – 1981
Francisco Franco stayed in power until his death in 1975, and his flag survived just two years longer. Eventually, in early 1977, a new design was introduced. This time, the eagle’s wings were more open, while the Pillars of Hercules moved within the wings. Also, the banner with the motto moved up and was now placed above the bird’s head.
1978 – present
On 22 November 1975, the Cortes Españolas proclaimed Juan Carlos King of Spain. Effectively, the House of Bourbon was restored, and King Juan Carlos I became the national leader. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 established the flag in the form it has now. The coat of arms was introduced on 19 December 1981.
Meaning of Symbols and Colors
Red and gold have been present on flags used on the territory of modern-day Spain for centuries. One of the earliest examples is the flag of the Kingdom of Castile. So, when Carlos III of Spain chose these colors for his flag, he possibly took into account their historic value for the country. Each part of the coat of arms seen on the flag represents a territory within Spain.
Use of the Flag
The flag with the coat of arms is used in three ways: as a national flag, and also as a state and naval ensign. The ratio is 2:3. The coat of arms should be displayed on both sides. Its height should be 2⁄5 of the hoist.
The flag and recommendations as to how it should be used are described in Article 4.1 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, and there is also additional information in rule 3 of the Royal Decree 1511/1977.
Coat of Arms
The coat of arms has a complex structure comprised of six different coats of arms and also additional heraldic elements.
Coats of arms:
- The gold three-towered castle with azure windows and gates and a red background (symbol of Castile).
- The rampant lion in a dark shade of red with a red tongue and a crown (symbol of León).
- Four vertical red stripes over the gold background (symbol of Aragon).
- An intricate gold chain pattern with a green center (symbol of Navarre).
- A pomegranate, seeded and supported, with two leaves (symbol of Granada).
- Three gold fleur-de-lis over a blue background (symbol of House of Bourbon, Anjou Branch).
Additionally, there are two Pillars of Hercules. This element is inspired by the ancient name of the Strait of Gibraltar. The reasoning behind it is further explained by the motto on the red banner: “Plus ultra” is translated as “Further beyond” from Latin.
The design is topped by a Spanish Royal crown featuring a cross on a globe.
