Royal banners Prior to the adoption of the national Swedish flag featuring the
Nordic cross, there were Royal banners, often featuring a striped field, often featuring blue, white, and yellow. Blue and yellow as national colors dates back to the
High Middle Ages, and have been featured on the National emblem of Sweden, the
Three Crowns, since at least 1336. File:Birger jarl baner.svg| Royal banner of
Birger jarl () File:Svea rike flagga (ren).svg| Royal banner of
Magnus Ladulås () File:Swedish 1620 soldier banner.jpg|Swedish banner from 1620, used by
Swedish marines. File:Swedish historical flags at Maritime Museum2.jpg|Swedish historic maritime flags at the Stockholm
Maritime Museum.
Nordic cross flag The exact age of the Swedish flag featuring the Nordic cross is not known. Other cross flags, such as the
Flag of Denmark,
Flag of England,
Flag of Constantinople, etc, started appearing already in the 13th century, and most likely influenced the Swedish flag design. According to early modern legend and popular folklore, the 12th-century
King Eric IX saw the sun shine against a golden cross in the sky as he landed in Finland during the
First Swedish Crusade in 1157. Seeing this as a sign from God he adopted the golden cross against a blue background as his banner. The oldest recorded pictures of a blue cloth with a yellow cross date from the early 16th century, during the reign of
King Gustav I. The first legal description of the flag was made in a royal warrant of 19 April 1562 as: "yellow in a cross fashioned on blue" (). As stipulated in a royal warrant of 1569, the yellow cross was always to be borne on Swedish battle standards and banners. Prior to this, a similar flag appeared in the coat of arms of
King John III's duchy, which is today
Southwest Finland. The same coat of arms is still used by the province. A potential predecessor to the Swedish flag with the Nordic cross could be the
coat of arms of Sweden, introduced during the reign of
King Charles VIII in 1448. The national coat of arms is a combination of
King Albert's coat of arms of 1364 and
King Magnus III's coat of arms of 1275, and is blue divided quarterly by a golden
cross pattée. Other ideas claim that the Swedish flag was blue with a white cross before 1420, and became blue with a golden cross a century later during the early reign of
King Gustav I. File:Blason de Charles VIII de Suède et de Norvège (1408-1470).svg|Royal coat of arms, created by King Karl in 1448. It has served as template for
Sweden's greater coat of arms since. File:Arms of John III of Sweden as the Duke of Finland.svg|Coat of arms of
Prince John as Duke of Finland 1556–1563, with the two-pointed Swedish ensign in the lower right-hand quadrant. File:Two-tailed Swedish ensign.jpg| Early variant of state flag and war ensign. This design was also used by the
Swedish East India Company.
Triple-tailed flag A royal warrant of 6 November 1663, regulated the use of the triple-tailed flag, to be used only as a state flag and naval ensign. According to the same royal warrant, merchant ships were only allowed to fly square-cut city flags in their respective provincial colours. In practice, however, the merchant fleet began using a square-cut civil ensign of the state flag. In a government instruction of ship building of 1730, this civil ensign should have the same proportions and colors as the state flag, with the notable difference of being square-cut. In 1756, the use of pennants by private ships was prohibited.
Blue ensign A royal warrant of 18 August 1761, stipulated that an all blue triple-tailed flag to be used by the
archipelago fleet, a branch of the
army tasked with defending the archipelago along the Swedish coastlines. The commander of the fleet also had the right to order the use of the ordinary war ensign instead of the blue ensign when that was "appropriate". The blue flag was used until 1813.
Union between Sweden and Norway Union flags of 1815 and 1818 On 6 June 1815, a common military ensign was introduced for the two united kingdoms of Sweden and Norway. This flag was identical to the former triple-tailed military ensign of Sweden, with a white
saltire on red to be included in the
canton. Proposed by the Norwegian
Prime Minister and unionist
Peder Anker, the white saltire on a red background was supposed to symbolise Norway, as the country had previously been united with Denmark and initially continued to use the same flag as an independent country, but with the national arms in the canton. Norwegian ships continued to use the Danish civil ensign distinguished with the national arms in the canton north of
Cape Finisterre, but had to fly the Swedish civil ensign in the
Mediterranean to be protected from pirate attacks. A common civil ensign for both countries was introduced in 1818, on the pattern of the naval ensign, but square-cut. This flag was optional for Swedish vessels, but compulsory for Norwegian ones in distant waters. In 1821, Norway adopted a new national civil ensign, identical to the present
flag of Norway. File:Swedish and Norwegian merchant flag 1818-1844.svg| Swedish and Norwegian civil ensign 1818–1844, with the
saltire on red in the canton symbolizing Norway File:Slup 1822 (cropped).jpg|Swedish
sloop with the early Union flag and pennant (1822) Following the adoption of a separate Norwegian flag, a royal regulation of 17 July 1821, stipulated that ships of both kingdoms use the common square-cut civil ensign (with the saltire included) in "distant waters" (
i.e. beyond
Cape Finisterre). In "distant waters", they had the right to use any of the square-cut civil ensigns of their respective countries, or the uniform Union civil ensign. This system was in force until 1838.
Union flags of 1844 A royal resolution of 20 June 1844, introduced new flags and heraldry to denote the equal status of the two kingdoms within the union. Both countries were granted civil and military ensigns on the same pattern, their respective national flags with the addition of a
union mark in the canton, combining the flag colours of both countries. The naval ensign was based on the traditional triple-tailed Swedish model. File:Swedish norwegian union flag.svg| Swedish civil ensign 1844–1905, with the union mark in the
canton File:Slup Mörbylånga 1886 (cropped).jpg|Swedish
sloop with the later Union flag, and pennant featuring the union mark (1886) File:Naval Ensign of Sweden (1844-1905).svg| Naval ensign of Sweden with union mark 1844–1905 In addition, the new union mark was to be used as the naval jack and as the flag for the common diplomatic representations abroad. The warrant also stipulated that the merchant fleet use their respective countries' square-cut civil ensigns, including the new union mark. Also, royal ensigns were introduced for both countries, their respective naval ensigns with the union mark, with the addition of the union arms at the center of the cross. File:Union Jack of Sweden and Norway (1844-1905).svg| Union mark of Swedish flags 1844–1905 (5:4). Also the common naval jack and diplomatic flag of both. File:HMS Wasa 1903.jpg|Swedish
coastal defence ship HSwMS Wasa displaying the common union jack (1903) The new union flags were well received by the Norwegians, who had demanded their own military ensign since the union was formed. In Sweden, however, the new union mark in particular became quite unpopular and was contemptuously nicknamed the
Sillsallaten (Swedish) or
Sildesalaten (Norwegian) after a colorful dish of pickled herring, decorated with red beets and apples in a radial pattern. It is believed that the name was first used in a speech by Lord Brakel in the
Swedish House of Lords in
Stockholm. During the 19th century, a number of regulations were issued regarding the use of Swedish flags. The military ensign was also to be used by civil government ships and buildings, such as the
Customs,
Harbor pilots and the
Royal Mail. For this use, the military ensign would have a white field included with a golden marker: For the Harbor pilots (as of 1881, based on a proposal of 1825) an anchor with a star; for the Customs (as of 1844) the letter "T" topped a royal crown; for the Royal Mail (as of 1844) a postal horn with a royal crown. On 7 May 1897, an alternate state flag was introduced. This double-tailed flag was used by government owned ships and buildings, which did not fly the triple-tailed military ensign. During the late 19th century, increasing Norwegian dissatisfaction with the union led to the demand for a return to the "pure" flag of 1821 without the union mark. Opponents of the union began to use this flag several years before it was officially recognised. During the 1890s, two consecutive sessions of the Norwegian parliament voted to abolish the mark, but the decision was overruled by royal veto. However, in 1898, when the flag law was passed for the third time, the king had to sanction it. On 12 October 1899, the union mark was removed from the Norwegian civil ensign. As the Norwegian military ensign according to the constitution of 1814 was to be a union ensign, the union mark remained on military flags until the dissolution of the union with Sweden. "Pure" military ensigns were hoisted on fortresses and naval vessels on 9 June 1905. The union mark, however, remained a part of the Swedish flag until 1905, when a Law of 28 October 1905, stipulated the removal of the union mark as of 1 November 1905.
Colour change in 1906 Following the
dissolution of the union in 1905, the triple-tailed naval ensign also became the Swedish naval jack, replacing the common naval jack, and the Flag law of 22 June 1906 further regulated the use and design of the flag, specifying the colours to be "ljust mellanblå" (light medium blue) and "guldgul" (golden yellow), a departure from the previously darker shade of blue. The Swedish state flag became identical to the square-cut civil ensign, and all private use of the triple-tailed ensign was prohibited. File:Flag of Sweden (pre-1906).svg| Swedish civil ensign 1 November 1905–21 June 1906, with union mark removed File:Color change of the national flag of Sweden.svg|Color change of the Swedish flag in 1906 File:Flag of Sweden as Paths.svg| Swedish civil ensign post 21 June 1906
Private use of the state flag There have been a few notable exemptions regarding the prohibition of private parties to use the state flag. All these privileges were terminated in accordance with the new specific flag regulation of 22 June 1906. • According to a royal warrant of 31 October 1786, the
Swedish East India Company had the right to use the triple-tailed war ensign in "Indian waters", when
not being under immediate protection by the
Swedish navy. In the merchant fleet, there was a common practice to illegally use the war ensign to indicate that the ship was armed. • In 1838, it was decided that private ships contracted by the Royal Mail were to fly a double-tailed flag. • On 27 February 1832, the
Royal Swedish Yacht Club received the right to use the triple-tailed war ensign, including a centre white field with a golden "O" topped with a duke's crown (as of 1878 a royal crown). • On 7 June 1893, the
Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club received the right to use the triple-tailed military ensign, including a centered white field with the golden "G K S S" topped with a star. == Use outside Sweden ==