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Flag and Shield

Set
GBP £0.86
Set CTO
GBP £0.86
First Day Cover
GBP £1.04
About Flag and Shield

The flag, the anthem and the shield form the three official symbols of the State of the Principality of Andorra, as set out in the Constitution and the regulations that regulate their use and definition in the 1996 Law on the use of State symbols.

This year's Basic Series includes these three symbols, using the flag as the background motif for the seal on which the shield is superimposed and, in turn, the official name of the State.

The three vertical stripes of the flag: blue, yellow and red, display in their center, the coat of arms of the Principality, which brings together in its barracks the emblems of the four traditional houses that have ruled the Principality: the bishopric of Urgel, the county of Foix, the Viscounty of Bearne and Catalonia. The Virtus Unita Fortior motto underlines the ensemble.

The chromatic set of the flag of the Principality of Andorra takes the colors of the French and Catalan flag, as it began to be done in 1866, when Napoleon III decided to incorporate the color blue to highlight French sovereignty.

Between 1931 and 1939 the flag was used interchangeably with the stripes oriented both vertically and horizontally, the latter without the shield, recalling in the first case the flag of the French Republic and in the second the flag of the second Spanish Republic .

Starting in 1939, the official use of the flag with vertical stripes and with the more elaborate shield was extended, seeking to differentiate itself from other flags that had a similar tricolor combination. In 1971 it was established as an official flag.

Finally, with the approval of the Constitution in 1993 and the country's entry into the United Nations in 1994, the current format of the flag was established.