Sweden - Fact Sheet

The flag of Sweden is a rectangular Scandinavian cross.¹. The cross is yellow against a blue field in the dimensions of 5:8.  The War (military) flag and ensign are a tongued swallowtail version of the state flag with the proportions of 1:2.

Flag dating from 16th Century,
officially re-adopted 22 June 1906. ²

The exact age of the Swedish Flag is not known, but the oldest recorded pictures of a blue cloth with a yellow cross date from the 16th century. As decreed in a royal warrant of 1569, the yellow cross was al-ways to be borne on Swedish battle standards and banners, as the Swedish Coat of Arms was blue divided quarterly by a cross of gold. The design of the Swedish flag is probably taken from the Danish flag, and its blue and yellow colours possibly come from the Coat of Arms. Not until the 1620s, i.e., during the reign of Gustav II Adolf. do we find any reliable evidence of the blue flag with a yellow cross being carried by Swedish vessels. According to our oldest existing flag warrant, from 1663, a triple-tailed flag was to be used except by merchant ships, whose flag was square-cut.³

About the Greater State Arms

The present Greater State Arms have had the same form since 1844, when King Oscar I, who had just succeded his father Carl XIV Johan (the former French Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, also former Prince of Ponte Corvo), changed it back to the form it had had before the union with Norway (1814-1905). In the first years of union with Norway, the greater Swedish state arms were divided into three fields, the first for Sweden (the three crowns), the second for the Folkunga dynasty (lion on streams) and the third for Norway (lion with axe).

When the arms were changed back, Union Arms were also created. These looked like the Greater State Arms of Sweden but had the arms of Norway in the heraldic left half of the shield and two royal crowns on top of the shield. These arms were only to be used in matters regarding both of the two realms.

The first act of law on the state arms were issued in 1908 (before this, the state arms were changed by royal decrees). The only change made in 1908 was, that from then on the shield is only surrounded by the Order of the Seraphim, the highest ranking royal order of Sweden (while before 1908, the shield could be surrounded by all royal orders).

The Greater State Arms are also personal arms of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf.

About the Smaller State Arms

"A with a royal crown crowned shield azure with three open crowns or, placed two above one. The shield may be surrounded by the insignia of the Order of the Seraphim."

The royal crown upon the shield denotes royal worthiness. The royal crown is also a sign for the state, which means that state activity carried on under a certain symbol can have the royal crown in this symbol, as for instance the royal crown can be found in the arms of the Customs Authority. State authorities and civil service departments can also use the smaller state arms with addition of special symbols denoting their activity, as in the arms of the Police, where the three crowns-shield is accompanied by oak leaves and fasceses.⁴

In Swedish only at this time