The Secret History Behind Thailand's Flag
Thailand's flag exists, according to a popular story, because someone hung the old one upside down.
Until 1917 the flag of Siam showed a white elephant on a red field. The story goes that King Vajiravudh, Rama VI, was dismayed to see it flying upside down, and ordered a design that looks the same either way up. The result is the Trairanga, the "tricolor", with five horizontal stripes: red, white, blue, white and red, with the blue stripe twice as wide as the others. It was adopted by royal decree on September 28, 1917.
The colors are read as nation, religion and king: red for the land and the people, white for religion, and blue for the monarchy.
The date printed on every Thailand design in our catalog, 1238, is traditionally the founding of the Sukhothai Kingdom, regarded as the first Thai kingdom.
A flag that works whichever way up you hold it.
Looking for a gift with a story? See our heritage gift guide, or read the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Stories page.