Queen's Personal Australian Flag

The Queen's Personal Australian Flag, sometimes known as the Royal Standard of Australia is the personal flag of Queen Elizabeth II in her role as Queen of Australia. The flag was approved for use in 1962. It is only used by the Queen when she is in Australia, or attending an event abroad in her role as head of state of Australia. The Queen's representative, the Governor-General of Australia has a separate flag.

The flag consists of a banner of the coat of arms of Australia, defaced with a gold seven-pointed star with a blue disc containing the letter E below a crown, surrounded by a garland of golden roses.

The six sections of the flag taken from the coat of arms each represents the arms of the Australian states. The first sixth represents New South Wales and bears a red St George's Cross, upon which is a gold lion in the centre and a gold star on each arm. The second sixth represents Victoria and contains a Crown and five white stars on a blue field. The third sixth represents Queensland and consists of a blue Maltese cross, bearing a Crown, on a white field. The fourth sixth represents South Australia and includes a Piping Shrike on a gold field. The fifth sixth represents Western Australia and consists of a black swan on a gold field. The last sixth represents Tasmania and contains a red lion on a white field.

The gold seven-pointed star, represents the states and the territories. The blue disc is taken from the Queen's Personal Flag as used for duties within the Commonwealth of Nations.

The flag can be used in two ratios, 1:2 and 22:31. The 1:2 ratio ensures the flag maintains visual integrity with other naval flags, which are 1:2. A 22:31 ratio gives simple dimensions for the flag elements, with a border of 2 units thick, and central squares of dimensions 9×9.

References

*Barraclough, E. M. C. and Crampton, W. G. (1978). "Flags of the World". London: Frederick Warne. ISBN 0-7232-2015-8. P. 207

External links

* [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/au-qe2.html Queen Elizabeth II's Personal Standard in Australia] at "Flags of the World". Accessed 8 Feb 06.

ee also

* Royal Standard- for a full list of all of Queen Elizabeth II's flags
* List of Australian flags