2. When the House of Habsburg took the Spanish
throne by mid-16th century, the first flag to represent
all of Spain was the Cross of Burgundy, which was
used until 1793 and which continued to be used as
an ensign of the Spanish Empire until 1898.
3. PHILIP V AND THE NEW BOURBON DYNASTY
The arms of Bourbon-Anjou
were added in 1700 when Philip
V became king of Spain. He
introduced several changes on
the royal arms. The king's new
arms were designed by the
French heraldists Charles-René
d'Hozier and Pierre Clairambault
in November 1700. Philip V also
changed the philosophy and the
design of the flags of Spain.
4. PHILIP V AND THE NEW BOURBON DYNASTY
Left - Military flag of Philip V
Middle - Bourbonic flag (1701–1760)
Right - Bourbonic flag (1760–1785)
5. The Spanish flag has undergone various
changes over its history. The red and yellow flag
we know today, often referred to in Spanish as
the rojigualda, was originally designed after the
flag of the Spanish merchant and war marines
during the reign of Carlos III (1785).
CARLOS III AND THE NEW FLAG
6. When Charles III became King of
Spain, he observed that most of the
countries in Europe used flags which
were predominantly white and, since
they were frequently at war with
each other, lamentable confusions
occurred at sea, it being difficult to
determine if a sighted ship were
enemy until practically the last
moment.
For this reason, he ordered to his
Minister of the Navy to present
several models of flags to him,
having to be visible from great
distances. The Minister selected
twelve sketches which were shown
to the king.
CARLOS III AND THE NEW FLAG
7. The flag that was chosen as war ensign is the
direct ancestor of the current flag. It was a triband
red-yellow-red, of which the yellow band was twice
the width of the red bands, a unique feature that
distinguished the Spanish tribanded flag from other
tribanded European flags.
The flag chosen as civil ensign or for Merchant
Marine use, meanwhile, consisted of five stripes of
yellow-red-yellow-red-yellow, in proportions
1:1:2:1:1.
CARLOS III AND THE NEW FLAG
8. THE SECOND REPUBLIC
On 14 April 1931, the monarchy was
overthrown and replaced by the Second
Spanish Republic. The regime change was
symbolized by a new tricolor flag.
9. THE SECOND REPUBLIC
The purported aim of the murrey strip was to
represent Castile and León in the flag's
colours, as the existing red and yellow
represented the territories of the former
Crown of Aragon.
Shield of the Second Republic
10. THE FLAG OF SPAIN UNDER FRANCO
Under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco,
the flag lost the color purple that had
appeared on the Republican flag, and
incorporated two important symbols: the
eagle and the shield of the Catholic
monarchy.
11. FLAG OF SPAIN FROM 1977 TO 1981
In 1977, two years after Franco's death, the
eagle was slightly modified
12. CURRENT FLAG
Finally, and after the restoration of the House of
Bourbon to the Spanish Throne in the person of King
Juan Carlos I, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 was
published, article 42 section 12 of which reads "The
Flag of Spain is formed by three horizontal stripes,
red, yellow and red, the yellow being double the width
of each of the red ones."
13. CURRENT FLAG
The new Spanish flag has three horizontal bands of red
(top), yellow (double width) and red, with the national
coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band. The
shield includes the royal seal, which is flanked by two
crowned pillars (the Pillars of Hercules) bearing the
inscription Plus Ultra.
The national flag of Spain finally received its present day
coat of arms in December 1981.
14. UNOFFICIAL FLAG
At some point during the 1990s an unofficial version of
the Spanish flag sporting an Osborne bull superimposed
as some sort of "coat of arms" began appearing in football
arenas. This usage has become increasingly popular and
this flag is easily seen nowadays during sports events,
football or others, which include a Spanish team, player or
the Spanish national team itself.
