In this article we will talk about the national flag of the Principality of Monaco. It is an inverted Polish flag - two stripes, red upper and white lower - and is considered one of the oldest in Europe, since these colors belonged to the princely house of Grimaldi since at least 1340. In its current form, it was approved in April 1881 by Prince Charles III, but this was preceded by a long and rich history for such a tiny country.
The original flag of the principality resembled the current version of the prince's flag. According to unconfirmed reports, it was used from the very establishment of the princely house with a short break for the French occupation in the period from 1793 to 1815, until 1881, when it was decided to make a simpler and more concise design.
Another symbol - the banner with the coat of arms of the state, which is a diamond in the dynastic colors of the house of Grimaldi, was used at different times with varying intensity as an unofficial flag and even now sometimes appears in some pictures with representatives of the dynasty.
But this is just a tribute to tradition - these princely diamonds have no official status.
In addition to the flag, there is also a personal standard of the prince. Everyone has their own. For example, in Albert, it is a cloth with the crown of the Prince of Monaco with a pair of letters "A" against the background of white. It is used on the prince's private vehicles, his yacht, and is also hung over the buildings where he is currently located - even if it is a hotel.
A small but proud bird
The flag of this dwarf country is confusingly reminiscent of the inverted Polish,as well as Indonesian, only the proportions are different - the Monegasque is not so elongated.
When in 1945 the government of the former Dutch India declared its independence and adopted a new flag, which turned out to be so similar to the one already used in Monaco, the government of this country expressed an official protest, and a little later even appealed to the international court.
The claim was not satisfied, based on the fact that vassal sultans of local native states in relation to the Dutch crown used white and red colors in the XVII century.
