Flag of Wales

What the flag of Wales looks like

The flag of Wales is a horizontal field of two equal bands, white at the top and green at the bottom, with a large red dragon in the center. The dragon is shown in the heraldic pose called passant: walking, with one foreleg raised, wings spread and its tail curling upward. It faces the hoist, the side nearest the pole. The exact representation of the dragon is not standardized in law, and the colors measured on the flag include a second, deeper red.

The flag has a width-to-height ratio of 3:5. The dragon is large enough to run almost the full width of the flag, and its head and tail reach close to the edges. There are no other symbols, text or borders. The dragon is also used on its own as the Welsh Government's emblem and as a badge for Welsh sport, from rugby to football.

Unlike most national flags, the Welsh flag is not a simple geometric pattern, so it is easy to recognize but harder to draw by hand. See the flag of the United Kingdom for the flag that Wales shares with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Welsh flag meaning and symbolism

The dragon is the main symbol, and it has been linked to Wales for well over a thousand years. The earliest written story is in the Historia Brittonum, a Latin text from around the 9th century. It tells of the British king Vortigern, who could not get his tower to stand. A boy named Emrys (later associated with Merlin) revealed that two dragons were fighting underground: a red one for the Britons and a white one for the invading Saxons. Merlin prophesied that the Britons would reclaim the island and push the Saxons back to the sea, and the red dragon became a sign of Welsh independence.

Green and white are the colors of the Tudor family, whose roots were in Wales; the Tudor livery was added to the flag later. The colors are not usually given separate official meanings.

In Welsh, the dragon is called y ddraig goch, and the line Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn ("the red dragon gives impetus" or "leads the way"), from a poem by Deio ab Ieuan Du, was added as a motto to the Royal Badge of Wales in 1953.

History of the Welsh flag

The red dragon was used by Welsh rulers long before the modern flag. Several Welsh rulers, including Owain Gwynedd and Owain Glyndŵr, were called "the dragon" or used the dragon on their banners; Glyndŵr raised a golden dragon standard in 1400. In 1485 Henry Tudor landed at Milford Haven and marched to Bosworth with a red dragon standard, which he carried in state to St Paul's Cathedral after his victory. A dragon was then added as a supporter of the Tudor royal arms, and the Tudor green and white were added to the flag later.

For the next several centuries there was no single official Welsh flag. In 1807 the red dragon on a green mount was adopted as the Royal Badge of Wales, and a motto was added in 1953. The badge was placed on a white and green background to make a flag, but this version was widely mocked, in part because the tail pointed downward in some versions. In 1959 government use of it was dropped in favor of the current flag, which was officially recognized as the Welsh national flag that year, and it now flies over the Senedd and Welsh Government buildings.

Why Wales is not on the Union Jack

The Union Flag combines the crosses of St George (England), St Andrew (Scotland) and, from 1801, St Patrick (Ireland). Wales has no cross of its own in it. When the first Union Flag was designed in 1606, Wales had already been legally joined to England through the Laws in Wales Acts of 1535 and 1542, and was treated as part of the Kingdom of England. The cross of St George therefore stood for both. Because of this history, the Welsh dragon was never added. Calls to include the dragon have been made for years, but the design has not changed.

Other flags used in Wales

Wales has more than one flag in everyday use, which is why people often ask about it.

• Y Ddraig Goch: the official national flag described above.
• Flag of Saint David: a yellow-gold cross on a black field, for the patron saint of Wales. It is flown on St David's Day, 1 March.
• Flag of Owain Glyndŵr: four lions in red and gold quarters, associated with the Welsh leader who raised a dragon standard in his revolt against English rule from 1400.

These can all be seen together in Welsh towns such as Caernarfon. Wales sits next to England, and the two have different flags and different national teams.