Banner o Thailand

The banner o the Kinrick o Thailand shows five horizontal stripes in the colours reid, white, blue, white an reid, wi the middle blue stripe bein twice as wide as each o the ither fower. The three colours reid-white-blue staund for naition-releegion-king, an unoffeecial motto o Thailand. The banner wis adoptit on 28 September 1917, accordin tae the ryal decree aboot the banner in that year. The Thai name for the banner is ธงไตรรงค์ (Thong Trairong), which simply means tricolour banner.

History[eedit | eedit soorce]

The banner o the Kinrick o Thailand is aften flewn alang wi the twa Ryal banners o the Keeng an Queen.

The first banner uised for Siam wis probably a plain reid ane, first uised unner Keeng Narai (1656–1688). Naval flags later uised different seembols on the reid grund—a white chakra (the wappen o god Vishnu which uise as the seembol o the Hoose o Chakri), or a white elephant inside the chakra.

Offeecially the first banner wis creatit in 1855 bi King Mongkut (Rama IV), showin a white elephant (a ryal seembol) on reid grund, as the plain coloured banner wis no distinct enough for internaitional relations.

In 1916 the banner wis chynged tae shaw a white elephant in ryal regalia. In 1917, the current design, but wi the middle colour bein the same reid as the ooter stripe, wis defined as the civil ensign. The story goes that durin a fluid King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) saw the banner hangin upside-doun, an tae prevent this frae happenin again creatit a new banner which wis seemmetrical. Later in 1917 the middle colour wis chynged tae dark blue, which wis seemilar in tone tae indigo, which at the time wis regarded as the auspicious colour for Seturday, the day King Vajiravudh wis born. Accordin tae ither soorces, the blue colour wis an aa chosen tae shaw solidarity wi the Allies o Warld War I, which an aa haed the colours blue-red-white in thair flags.

The banner resembles the banner o Costa Rica, which wis adoptit 11 years prior tae Thailand's. The main difference is that the blue an reid colours are invertit; the banner o Costa Rica an aa haes a different proportion o 3:5.

In the "reimagined" Battlestar Galactica televeesion series in 2004, the colour an layoot o the banner o Caprica, ane o twal colonies in the series, is closed resemble tae Thailand's banner.

Timeline[eedit | eedit soorce]

Date	Uise	Description
c.1700–c.1790	Naitional ensign durin late Ayutthaya an Thonburi periods	A reid plain rectangular banner.
c.1790–1855	Civil ensign prior tae 1855	A reid plain rectangular banner.
c.1790–c.1820	State an naval ensign decreed bi King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I)	Red banner wi a white chakra, presumably tae represent the Chakri Dynasty.
c.1820–1855	Change institutit bi King Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (Rama II)	Red banner wi a white elephant inside the chakra.
1855–1893	Naitional ensign decreed bi King Mongkut (Rama IV)	A white elephant, facing the hoist, centred on a reid field. Cawed in Thai leid "Thong Chang Puak (in thai: ธงช้างเผือก)" (elephant banner).
1893–1916	Civil ensign until 1916
1893–1898	State an naval ensign, tae be displayed defaced wi the flyer's emblem on the upper hoist corner	A white elephant in regalia, facin the hoist, centred on a reid field
1898–1912	State an naval ensign
1912–1917	State banner an ensign, decreed bi King Vajiravudh (Rama VI)
1917	Civil ensign	Red banner wi twa horizontal white stripes ane-saxt wide, ane-saxt frae the tap an bottom
1917–present	Naitional banner, civil an state ensign	Banner wi horizontal blue stripe ane-third wide atween white stripes ane-saxt wide, atween reid stripes ane-saxth wide, kent as the Trairanga

Maritime flags[eedit | eedit soorce]

The naval ensign o Ryal Thai Navy is seemilar tae the naitional banner but haes the reid circle in the middle which reaches as far as the reid stripes at the tap an bottom. In the circle stands a white elephant, in full caparison, facin the flagpole. Thai Navy jack is the naitional banner wi an additional emblem o Ryal Thai Navy in the middle. The design o the regimental colours o RTN is as same as this banner. Thir twa ensigns are adoptit in 1917.