Royal Standard of Scotland
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The Royal Standard of Scotland, also known as the Royal Standard of the King of Scots or more commonly the Lion Rampant is the flag used historically by the King of Scots. It is a banner of the Royal Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Scotland. The Lion is commonly thought to have been adopted in the early 12th century by William I (known as "William the Lion"), but there is no evidence of its use as "the Arms of Dominion of Scotland" before 1222, when it appeared in the seal of his son, Alexander II. An earlier recorded Scottish Royal standard featured a dragon, which is known to have been used at the Battle of the Standard in 1138 by David I. It has also been suggested that The Royal Arms of Scotland were first devised by King Malcolm III Canmore in 1061. The flag is a red lion rampant with blue tongue and claws within a red double tressure flory counter-flory on a yellow field, specified in heraldry as "Or, a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counter-flory Gules".
Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the flag was incorporated into the Royal Standard of successive British Monarchs, appearing in both the first and fourth quadrants of versions used in Scotland while only appearing in the second quadrant on versions used elsewhere.
Today the flag is used officially at the Scottish Royal residencies of Holyrood Palace and Balmoral Castle when the Queen is not in residence. The flag may also be used by representatives of the Crown, including the First Minister, Lord Lieutenants in their Lieutenancies, the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and the Lord Lyon King of Arms. As the personal banner of the monarch, its use is restricted under the Act of the Parliament of Scotland 1672 cap. 47 and 30 & 31 Vict. cap. 17.[1].
Today however, the flag is also used unofficially as a second national flag of Scotland (particularly at sporting events), and despite such use being illegal under the Act, the Lyon Court has never prosecuted offenders for flying the Standard unofficially.
The flag also features in the Standard of the Duke of Rothesay, the title used by the eldest son of the monarch in Scotland.
The flag is also flown by the Royal Regiment of Scotland.[2]
The central lion-rampant motif is also used as a badge by Irish clans who claim a place in the Milesian genealogies, in common with Malcolm III Canmore.
The lion also features on the badge of the Scotland national football team.
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