List of Welsh flags

Three Welsh flags, as flown in Caernarfon. Top to bottom: Owain Glyndŵr flag, Flag of Saint David, and the Flag of Wales.

This is a list of flags that are used exclusively in Wales. Other flags used in Wales, as well as the rest of the United Kingdom can be found at list of British flags.

National flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	Since 1959 (official)(variants first appeared c.1485)	Flag of Wales, also known as Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon)	Per fess Argent and Vert, a dragon passant Gules
			A vertical per fess Argent and Vert, a dragon passant Gules
	Since 1921	Flag of Saint David	Sable a cross Or

Royal standards of the United Kingdom

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	Since 1837	The Royal Standard, used by King Charles III in England, Wales and Northern Ireland	A banner of the King's Arms, the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, blazoned Quarterly, I and IV Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or; II Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules; III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent
		Standard of the Prince of Wales, used only in Wales	A banner based on the arms of the last native Prince of Wales, Llywelyn the Great, with the Prince of Wales's coronet in the centre, blazoned Quarterly Or and Gules four lions passant guardant counterchanged armed and langued Azure, over all an inescutcheon Vert charged with the coronet of the Heir Apparent

Government flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	Since 2017	The ensign used aboard ships of the Welsh Government, such as the patrol boats of the Marine and Fisheries Division.[1]	A British blue ensign defaced with a yellow dragon
		Flag of the Senedd Cymru.[2]	White with the logo of the Senedd Cymru in red

Religious

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	Since 1921	Flag of Saint David	Sable a cross Or
	Since 1954	Flag of the Church in Wales	Argent a cross Azure a celtic cross proper
	1920 – 1954	Unofficial Flag of the Church in Wales	A reversed Saint David's cross

Dioceses of the Church in Wales

Flag	Date	Use	Description
		Flag of the Diocese of Bangor	A banner of the Diocese's coat of arms.
		Flag of the Diocese of St Asaph	A banner of the Diocese's coat of arms.
		Flag of the Diocese of St Davids	A banner of the Diocese's coat of arms.
		Flag of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon	A banner of the Diocese's coat of arms.

Historical

Welsh flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1807 – 1953	Used from 1807 until 1953.
	1953 – 1959	Used from 1953 until 1959, depicting the Royal Badge of Wales after its augmentation of honour.

Welsh royal standards

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1195 – 1378	Banner adopted by Owain Glyndŵr and thought to be derived from the counter-charged arms of the princely Houses of Mathrafal and Dinefwr. It is currently in use by the National Eisteddfod for Wales, Cymdeithas yr Iaith and widely amongst pro-independence groups	Quarterly Or and Gules, four Lions rampant counter-charged
	1100 – 1378	Banner of the princely House of Aberffraw and the Kingdom of Gwynedd famously used by Llywelyn the Great, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Owain Lawgoch. The Prince of Wales uses a version of this flag today emblazoned with a Crown on a green shield	Quarterly Or and Gules, four Lions passant guardant counter-charged langued and armed Azure
	c.987 – c.1034	Banner of the princely House of Mathrafal used during the early Middle Ages by the rulers of Powys, Powys Wenwynwyn and later by their heirs the de la Pole (Powysian) dynasty. Modern use is rare	Or a Lion rampant Gules langued and armed Azure
	c.1034 – c.1195	Banner of the princely House of Dinefwr and the Kingdom of Deheubarth, a realm which covered much of south Wales. The banner would have been used during the early Middle Ages and later by the Talbot dynasty who inherited the arms. Modern use is rare	Gules a Lion rampant Or, a border engrailed of the last
	c.1267 - 1282	Banner of the personal arms of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd	Argent three Lions passant Gules
	c.567 – c.897	Banner of Madog ap Gruffudd Maelor, and later the Banner of Powys Fadog	Argent a Lion rampant Sable langued and armed Gules. Often referred to as the Black Lion of Powys.

Battle flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	c.1400 – c.1416	Banner known as Y Ddraig Aur or "The Golden Dragon" which has ancient origins. It was famously raised over Caernarfon during the Battle of Tuthill in 1401 by Owain Glyndŵr	Argent a dragon rampant Or
	13th century	Banner known as Y Groes Nawdd or "The Cross of Neith" said to have been the battle flag of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (d. 1282)	Purpure a celtic cross Or

Religious flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	pre – 1954	Unofficial flag of the Diocese of Bangor	An inverted Saint David's Cross with the arms of the Diocese in the canton.
	pre – 1954	Unofficial flag of the Diocese of Llandaff	An inverted Saint David's Cross with the arms of the Diocese in the canton.
	pre – 1954	Unofficial flag of the Diocese of Monmouth	An inverted Saint David's Cross with the arms of the Diocese in the canton.
	pre – 1954	Unofficial flag of the Diocese of St Asaph	An inverted Saint David's Cross with the arms of the Diocese in the canton.
	pre – 1954	Unofficial flag of the Diocese of St Davids	An inverted Saint David's Cross with the arms of the Diocese in the canton.
	pre – 1954	Unofficial flag of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon	An inverted Saint David's Cross with the arms of the Diocese in the canton.

Other flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1910–1913	Variant flag of Wales used during the British Antarctic Expedition.[3]

Regions, counties and cities

Traditional counties

Of the 13 historic counties, seven have flags registered with the Flag Institute, with Brecknockshire, Cardiganshire (now Ceredigion), Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire outstanding.^{[clarification needed]}

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	March 2014[4]	Flag of Anglesey	Gules a chevron Or between three lions rampant Or.
	Not yet registered	De facto flag of Brecknockshire
	Since 2012[5]	Flag of Caernarfonshire	Vert, three eagles displayed in fess Or.
	Not yet registered^[clarification needed]	De facto flag of Cardiganshire	Sable, a lion regardant Or.
	Since 2015[6]	Flag of Flintshire	Argent a Cross fleury engrailed Sable between four Cornish Choughs proper
	Since 2013[7]	Flag of Glamorgan	Gules, three Chevronels Argent
	Since 2015[8]	Flag of Merionethshire	Azure, three goats rampant Argent, armed and unguled Or; from the dexter base the sun in his splendour issuant Or.
	Since 2011[9]	Flag of Monmouthshire	Per pale Azure and Sable three Fleurs-de-lis Or.
	Since 1988[10]	Flag of Pembrokeshire	Azure a cross Or on an inescutcheon of five Vert a Tudor Rose quarterly counter-changed Argent and Gules.

Cities, towns and villages

See also: Local government in Wales

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1906[11]	Flag of Cardiff	Argent on a Mount Vert a Dragon rampant Gules supporting in front of a Leek issuing from the Mount a Flag Staff erect proper flying therefrom to the sinister a Banner of the third charged with three Chevronels of the first.
	2013[12]	Flag of Craig-y-Dorth	Two golden wyverns couchant facing each other as in battle; one on a blue background and the other on a red background.
	2022[13]	Flag of Llandovery
	2015[14]	Flag of Monmouth
	2013[15]	Flag of Tywyn

University flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
		Flag of Bangor University[16]
		Flag of Swansea University	A banner of the University's coat of arms.
		Flag of Wrexham Glyndŵr University	A banner of the University's coat of arms.

House flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
		House flag of Cory Brothers	A horizontal bicolour of white and green, defaced in the centre with a pink Welsh dragon holding two overlapping black diamonds (representing lumps of coal) with a smaller white diamond (inscribed with the name "CORY BROTHERS") in the middle.[17]
	1882–1981	House flag of Evan Thomas, Radcliffe and Company

Nationalist flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1960s	Welsh Republican Tricolour^[citation needed]	A vertical tricolour of green, red and white with a black star representing those who have fallen for their country.
	1950s–1960s	Flag of the Welsh Republican Movement^[citation needed]	A vertical tricolour of green, red and white.
	1960s	Yr Eryr Wen – the White Eagle, used by radical nationalists such as the Free Wales Army. The eagle or Eryr is thought to refer to Owain Gwynedd who used an eagle for his coat of arms, and also Snowdonia (called Eryri in Welsh).[18]	A stylised white eagle on a black background.
	1970s	Flag of the Welsh Patriotic Front[19]	A horizontal tricolour of white, red and green, with a black band in the hoist containing a gold Y Nod Cyfrin.
	1970s	Y Ddraig Ddu or "The Black Dragon" used by the Cymru 1400 republican movement^[citation needed]	The Red Dragon of Wales on a black field.
	1960s	Banner of the now defunct Meibion Glyndŵr militant pro-independence organisation^[citation needed]	Banner of Owain Glyndŵr indented with the border of an eldest son.
		Cofiwch Dryweryn flag	The slogan "Cofiwch Dryweryn" ("Remember Tryweryn") in white on a field of red.

References

1. Flag Institute Flagmaster Issue 160
2. "The Senedd turns blue, red and white as Wales shows its solidarity with France". 14 November 2015.
3. Phillips, Elen. "Captain Scott's Welsh Flag". Amgueddfa Cymru.
4. "Anglesey Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
5. "Caernarfonshire Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
6. "Flintshire Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
7. "Glamorgan Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
8. "Merioneth Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
9. "Monmouthshire Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
10. "Pembrokeshire Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
11. "Cardiff Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
12. "Craig-y-Dorth Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
13. "Carmarthenshire town unfurls new flag as part of effort to promote its history". Nation.Cymru. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
14. "Monmouth Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
15. "Tywyn Flag | Free official image and info | UK Flag Registry". The Flag Institute. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
16. Jonathan Dixon (19 September 2010). "Bangor University (Wales, United Kingdom)". Flags of the World. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
17. "House flag, Cory Brothers". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
18. "White Eagle of Wales flag". Flags of the World. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
19. David B. Lawrence (19 February 2007). "Welsh separatist and independentist flags: Patriotic Front flag". Flags of the World. Retrieved 6 October 2022.