The Royal Flag of the Netherlands consists of three equal horizontal stripes. Upper - red, middle - white, lower - blue. It is easy to notice the similarity of the Dutch flag with the modern Russian, only the location of the stripes differs.
Curious resemblance
When looking at the flag of the Netherlands, a Russian photo is sometimes worth keeping in front of you. The combination of red and white stripes will create a curious chess. It is interesting that such an ornamental composition was on the coat of arms of the Croats at the time when they defeated the Venetians. But this is by the way, although the flag of the Netherlands was born as a result of a popular uprising. Interestingly, colors similar to the Dutch ones were personally chosen by the Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich for the Russian flag . For the sewing of the banner, which was hoisted over the first Russian warship “Eagle”, “Kindyak-Alai”, white and blue fabrics were purchased.
Banner story
The first flag of the Netherlands, which he won in the struggle for independence with Spain, was the flag of the Prince of Orange, first raised during the Eighty Years War, which also consists of three stripes of three colors: royal orange, white and blue. The colors of the Prince of Orange - Nassau Willem I livery were used for the banner. This is the orange color of the Principality inherited by the prince. Orange, white denotes the Gyz struggle for freedom and power, blue (azure) - the color of Nassau county.
The orange bar was replaced by a red one as a result of the 1648 revolution. The flag of the Netherlands with a red stripe remained state even after the restoration of the monarchy in Holland in 1815. Moreover, it should be noted that the return of orange to the state banner was not allowed by Napoleon’s brother, Louis Bonaparte, who stated that “There is no room for orange in the Kingdom of Holland”.
Perhaps the change of orange on the flag to red was also purely practical. The first tone burns out in the sun much faster than the second due to the different mineral composition of the dyes used. For the same reasons, Nassau's azure color was replaced with blue. The flag of the Prince (the so-called flag with an orange stripe) became the basis for the flag of the Union of South Africa (1910-1961) and the Republic of South Africa (1928-1994). Now the Prince’s banner is very popular among Dutch nationalists and supporters of the idea of a great Holland.
Other Netherlands symbols
In addition to the main banner, on holidays in the Netherlands you can see three more banners: the Queen’s standard, the navy’s guys and the flag of the Minister of Defense. Often the banner of the country hangs next to one of them. To create an idyllic picture of the Netherlands, a national flag alone is sometimes not enough.
The Queen’s standard is a blue cross on an orange field. In the center is the royal coat of arms, a lion under the crown. In 4 fields into which the cross divides the standard - postal horns.
Guys Navy - a white field, divided by two oblique crosses - blue and red - so that the blue and red sectors form irregular shapes.
The Minister of Defense’s flag is four slanting orange stripes on the left side of the purple field.