View source for Flag of Saint Helena

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox flag
| Name = Saint Helena
| Image = Flag of Saint Helena.svg
| Alt = Blue Ensign with Union Flag in the canton and the Saint Helena coat of arms in outer half.
| Noborder = 
| Nickname = Flag of Saint Helena
| Morenicks = 
| Use = 110010
| Symbol = 
| Proportion = 1:2
| Adoption = 1984
| Design = A [[Blue Ensign]] with the [[Coat of arms of Saint Helena|coat-of-arms of Saint Helena]] in the outer half.
| Designer = 
}}
The '''flag of Saint Helena''' consists of a [[Blue Ensign]] [[Defacement (flag)|defaced]] with the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|shield]] from [[Coat of arms of Saint Helena|the British overseas territory's coat of arms]].  Adopted in 1984 shortly after the island was granted a new coat of arms, it has been the flag since. [[Saint Helena]]'s flag is similar to the flags of eight other [[British Overseas Territories]], which are also Blue Ensigns with their respective coats of arms.

==History==
Saint Helena was first sighted by [[João da Nova]] in May 1502.  The [[East India Company]] (EIC) was later conferred a [[royal charter]] to govern the island in 1659.  It briefly came under [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] sovereignty in 1673, before becoming a [[crown colony]] for the duration of [[Napoleon]]'s exile there from 1815 until his death in 1821.  After reverting back to EIC control for thirteen years, it became a crown possession again in 1834.<ref name=EBhist>{{cite encyclopedia|first=|last=|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Saint Helena – History|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Helena-island-South-Atlantic-Ocean/History|date=6 June 2019|access-date=8 April 2022|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.}}</ref><ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title=Montserrat profile – Timeline|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14123532|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|date=14 May 2018|access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Flag of Saint Helena (1874–1985).svg|thumb|left|The flag used from 1874 to 1985.]]
[[File:081z Saint Helena's Day parade, 1834 - 1984, Jamestown, St Helena Island.jpg|thumb|right|The 1st Jamestown Scout Group at a Saint Helena's Day parade in 1984, the photo shows the old version of the Saint Helena [[Red Ensign]].]]

Saint Helena was accorded its own badge in 1874 that was eventually utilised on its flag.<ref name=FOTW>{{cite web|title=Saint Helena|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sh.html|website=Flags of the World|access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref>  This consisted of a depiction of the territory's rocky coastline and an [[East Indiaman]].<ref name=Smallman>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVNf50szNoMC&pg=PA8|title=Quincentenary: A Story of St Helena, 1502–2002|publisher=Hypatia Publications|year=2003|last=Smallman|first=David L.|page=8|isbn=9781872229478}}</ref>  The badge was later redesigned in 1984,<ref name="2019 update">{{cite news|title=St Helena Government Adopts Updated Coat of Arms|url=https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/2019/news/st-helena-government-adopts-updated-coat-of-arms/|date=29 April 2019|access-date=8 April 2022|publisher=Government of Saint Helena|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408043917/https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/2019/news/st-helena-government-adopts-updated-coat-of-arms/|archivedate=8 April 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Kindersley Ltd.|2009|p=130}} with the [[Saint Helena plover]] added to the upper portion.<ref name=Smallman/>  Although this change was publicised in the island's [[government gazette]] in January of that year,<ref name="2019 update"/> authorisation was only granted by the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] a decade later in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chapter 91 – Standards, Flags and Colours|url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/documents/reference-library/brd2/ch91.pdf|page=91B-2|date=April 2017|access-date=7 April 2022|publisher=[[Royal Navy]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418075220/https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/documents/reference-library/brd2/ch91.pdf|archive-date=18 April 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Flag of Saint Helena (post-May 2019).svg|thumb|left|The flag with the illustration since 2019.]]

The territory's flag was also utilised as the official flag of [[Tristan da Cunha]], as well as on [[Ascension Island]] in an unofficial capacity.{{sfn|Kindersley Ltd.|2009|p=130}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sh-tc.html|website=Flags of the World|access-date=7 April 2022}}</ref>  This continued until the two islands adopted their own distinct flags in 2002 and 2013, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tristan da Cunha Government|url=https://www.tristandc.com/government.php|access-date=7 April 2022|publisher=Government of Tristan da Cunha}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=First Ever Ascension Flag to Fly|url=https://www.ascension.gov.ac/first-ever-ascension-flag-to-fly|date=27 March 2013|access-date=7 April 2022|publisher=Government of Ascension Island}}</ref>  Minor updates were made to the shield (and, by extension, the flag of Saint Helena) in April 2019, amid concerns that the illustration of the wirebird had become misrepresented.  The island's government consequently invited the [[College of Arms]] in [[London]] to create an up-to-date painting of the coat of arms that could be digitally generated while remaining faithful to the colors prescribed in the 1984 Gazette.<ref name="2019 update"/>  Two years later, the territory's flag was hoisted at [[New Palace Yard]] in the [[Palace of Westminster]] on 21 May 2021, a public holiday on the island that honours the feast day of [[Helena of Constantinople]].  It was part of an effort by [[Lindsay Hoyle]], the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House of Commons]] at the time, to observe the ceremonial days of overseas territories.<ref>{{cite news|title=Parliament flies the flag for St Helena's national day|url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2021/may/parliament-flies-the-flag-for-st-helenas-national-day/|date=21 May 2021|access-date=7 April 2022|publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom}}</ref>


==Design==
===Symbolism===
The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings.  The bird on the yellow field is a [[Saint Helena plover]] that epitomises the fauna of the territory.{{sfn|Kindersley Ltd.|2009|p=130}}<ref name=CIA>{{cite web|title=Norfolk Island – Details|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-helena-ascension-and-tristan-da-cunha/flag|date=3 March 2022|access-date=7 April 2022|work=The World Factbook|publisher=CIA}}</ref>  Popularly referred to by Saint Helenians as the wirebird, it is the last species of bird that is [[endemic]] to the island,{{sfn|Steiner|Liston|2007|p=52}} and is the [[List of national birds|official bird]] of Saint Helena.{{sfn|Steiner|Liston|2007|p=90}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3p26DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT91|title=St Helena: A Maritime History|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|date=15 December 2016|last=Boult|first=Trevor|isbn=9781445658421}}</ref>  The [[Saint George's Cross|Cross of Saint George]] flown from the three-masted sailing ship is a conspicuous symbol of the Kingdom of England, Saint Helena's mother country.{{sfn|Kindersley Ltd.|2009|p=130}}<ref name=CIA/>

===Similarities===
The Blue Ensign is also used on the flags of eight of the thirteen other [[British Overseas Territories]], with their coats of arms in the [[Glossary of vexillology#Flag elements|fly]] being the lone distinguishing feature between them.  These are, specifically, the flags of [[Flag of Anguilla|Anguilla]], the [[Flag of the British Virgin Islands|British Virgin Islands]], the [[Flag of the Cayman Islands|Cayman Islands]], the [[Flag of the Falkland Islands|Falkland Islands]], [[Flag of Montserrat|Montserrat]], the [[Flag and coat of arms of the Pitcairn Islands|Pitcairn Islands]], [[Flag of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]], and the [[Flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands|Turks and Caicos Islands]].{{sfn|Kindersley Ltd.|2009|pp=129–130}}

==Variants==
The standard of the [[Governor of Saint Helena|territory's governor]] features the Union Jack [[Defacement (flag)|defaced]] with the territorial coat of arms at the centre.<ref>{{cite web|title=Governor of Saint Helena and Dependencies|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sh-gov.html|website=Flags of the World|access-date=6 April 2022}}</ref>  Ships registered in Saint Helena fly the [[Red Ensign]], since there is no defaced variant for the island.<ref name=FOTW/>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Variant flag of Saint Helena
!scope="col" |Variant flag
!scope="col" |Date
!scope="col" |Usage
|-
|[[File:Flag of the Governor of Saint Helena (1874–1985).svg|150px]]
|1874–1985
|Standard of the [[Governor of Saint Helena]]
|-
|[[File:Flag of the Governor of Saint Helena (1985–1999).svg|150px]]
|1985–1999
|Standard of the Governor of Saint Helena
|-
|[[File:Flag of the Governor of Saint Helena.svg|150px]]
|2019–
|Standard of the Governor of Saint Helena
|}

==See also==
*[[Flag of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]]
**[[Flag of Ascension Island]]
**[[Flag of Tristan da Cunha]]

==References==
'''Specific'''
{{reflist}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8gcL2PBOVIC|title=Complete Flags of the World|publisher=Penguin|date=6 January 2009|last=Kindersley Ltd.|first=Dorling|isbn=9780756654863}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-iZ8R0EkwwC|title=St Helena: Ascension, Tristan Da Cunha|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|year=2007|last1=Steiner|first1=Sue|last2=Liston|first2=Robin|isbn=9781841621982}}
{{refend}}

{{Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha}}
{{British dependencies flags}}
{{Union Flag}}
{{Africa topic|Flag of|title=[[Flags of Africa]]}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Helena, Flag Of}}
[[Category:Society of Saint Helena|Flag]]
[[Category:Culture of Saint Helena|Flag]]
[[Category:1874 establishments in the British Empire|Flag of Saint Helena]]<!-- former flag -->
[[Category:Flags introduced in 1984]]<!-- current flag -->
[[Category:Flags of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]]
[[Category:Blue Ensigns]]
[[Category:Flags displaying animals]]
[[Category:Flags with cantons]]
[[Category:Flags that incorporate the Union Jack]]
[[Category:Flags of dependent territories of the United Kingdom]]