The Secret History Behind the Netherlands' Flag

The Dutch flag is the oldest tricolour in continuous use — and it started out orange.

Its roots go back to the Prinsenvlag, the "Prince's flag", first used during the Dutch Revolt in the late 16th century. Its colors were orange, white and blue: orange for the House of Orange-Nassau, and white and blue from the livery of the principality.

During the 17th century, the orange was gradually replaced by red. It is said the reason was practical: orange is harder to see at sea than red.

The flag in its current design was formally established by royal decree of Queen Wilhelmina on February 19, 1937, which describes the three colors as bright vermilion, white and cobalt blue.

The date printed on every Netherlands design in our catalog, July 26, 1581, is the Act of Abjuration, in which the Dutch provinces declared they no longer recognized King Philip II of Spain as their ruler.

A flag that changed one color at sea and kept its place for four centuries.

See the Netherlands Windmill Tulip Tee → · Browse the Netherlands collection → — or explore the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Story Cards page.