Monaco Flag: Meaning, History, Colors, Proportions and Pictures

Monaco’s national flag is a plain horizontal bicolor with two equal bands: red above white. Both bands extend from the hoist to the fly. The national design has no crown, shield, lettering or border. A white flag bearing the Grimaldi arms is a different, princely flag.

The familiar reference ratio is 5:4 width to height, also written 4:5 height to length. This package uses that shape. Vexillological literature also records 3:2 examples in practice. The Constitution and the accessible ordinance text do not themselves state a numeric ratio; the ordinance refers to illustrated models.

For the 5:4 reference, draw a rectangle five units wide and four units high. Divide it horizontally into two bands, each two units high. Fill the upper band red and the lower band white. Keep the edges straight and the bands equal; there is no central emblem to position.

The legally described colors are red and white. The supplied digital reference uses red #CE1126, equivalent to RGB 206, 17, 38, and white #FFFFFF, equivalent to RGB 255, 255, 255. These values reproduce the credited reference file; the consulted constitutional and ordinance texts do not prescribe those HEX codes.

No Pantone, CMYK or RGB formula appears in the constitutional and ordinance texts consulted for this guide. Specialist references report different production specifications in different publications. Use the supplied HEX values to match these digital images, and obtain an approved physical sample or specification for a formal textile or print commission.

The strongest documented explanation is heraldic: red and white are the colors of the House of Grimaldi. Monaco’s National Council also connects them with Genoa, the dynasty’s ancestral city. Popular labels such as bravery for red and peace for white should not be presented as meanings established by Monaco’s flag law.

The Grimaldi arms have a shield patterned with silver and red elongated diamonds, surrounded by the collar of the Order of Saint Charles. A princely crown tops an ermine-lined red mantle. Two sword-bearing friars support the shield, and a ribbon carries the motto Deo Juvante, meaning “with God’s help.”

The princely flag places the colored arms of the House of Grimaldi on a white field. The national flag instead has two plain horizontal bands. Article 7 of the Constitution recognizes both. The 1881 ordinance assigns the princely flag to princely residences, public buildings and state vessels.

Prince Charles III established the national red-and-white bicolor by the sovereign ordinance of April 4, 1881. Monaco’s National Council commemorates that date as the flag’s anniversary. Earlier use of Grimaldi colors does not mean the present statutory bicolor was adopted in the Middle Ages, and the 1962 Constitution is a later milestone.

The essential sequence begins with the Grimaldi heraldic colors, followed by Charles III’s flag ordinance in 1881. A 1939 law addresses displays with foreign flags. The Constitution of December 17, 1962, later restates the two flag designs and retains the ordinance as the basis for their use.

April 4 is the anniversary of the 1881 flag ordinance. The National Council explicitly commemorates it as the flag’s anniversary. The sources consulted do not establish it as a separate public holiday called Flag Day. Monaco’s National Day is November 19, a different observance with its own princely history.

Monaco’s National Day is November 19. It has been celebrated on that date since 1952, linking the occasion to Rainier III’s enthronement and the observance of Blessed Rainier of Arezzo. Albert II retained November 19 in 2005 as a tribute to his father, rather than choosing a new date.

Article 7 of the Constitution defines the national and princely flags and refers their use to the sovereign ordinance of April 4, 1881. That ordinance supplies the design and use provisions. Law 258 of July 19, 1939, separately addresses displaying foreign flags alongside a Monegasque flag in Monaco.

Article 5 of the 1881 ordinance specifically assigns the national red-and-white flag to merchant and fishing vessels. Article 4 assigns the princely flag to state vessels, as well as princely residences and public buildings. This distinction concerns the two named flags; it does not add an emblem to the national bicolor.

Article 6 of the 1881 ordinance permits both the princely flag and the national flag on private houses during public ceremonies and festivities. That express permission should be quoted in its stated context. It does not, by itself, establish every rule for permanent private displays, advertising uses or commercial branding.

Under the 1939 law, foreign flags displayed outside diplomatic or consular premises must be accompanied by a Monegasque flag. It must be at least as large as the largest foreign flag and occupy the place of honor. The law specifies the center when there are at least two foreign flags.

Monaco uses half-mast flags during officially directed mourning. A documented example followed the death of Minister of State Didier Guillaume in January 2025: public-building flags were lowered from January 18, and January 23 was declared a national day of mourning. That historical example is not an instruction for a current display.

For an ordinary horizontal display, red belongs above white. Because the national flag has no emblem or lettering, viewing it from the back does not change that color order. Turning it upside down does. A vertical event installation should follow the organizer’s applicable protocol rather than an assumed universal rotation rule.

Any width and height in the ratio 5:4 preserve the supplied national reference. Examples include 1000 × 800 pixels, 2000 × 1600 pixels and 4000 × 3200 pixels. For cloth, 125 × 100 centimeters has the same shape. These are calculated examples, not statutory sizes or required flagpole pairings.

Both national flags have equal red-over-white bands. The familiar Monaco reference is 5:4 width to height, while Indonesian law specifies 3:2. Their histories are independent. Because wider Monaco flags also occur in practice, shape alone cannot always identify a photograph; check the country label and context as well.

Monaco places red above white; Poland places white above red. Poland’s ordinary national flag also has an 8:5 width-to-height ratio, compared with the 5:4 Monaco reference supplied here. The band order is the clearest visual distinction. Neither ordinary bicolor needs an emblem to be identified correctly in this comparison.

The red-and-white national flag represents the Principality of Monaco. Monte Carlo is a place within Monaco, not a separate sovereign country with a different national flag. Use “Monaco flag” for the country symbol, and avoid replacing it with a municipal, sporting or commercial logo merely because an event is held in Monte Carlo.

Monaco’s flag emoji is 🇲🇨, formed from the regional indicator letters M and C. Its Unicode sequence is U+1F1F2 U+1F1E8. The corresponding flag identifier is MC. Indonesia’s ID sequence and Poland’s PL sequence are different, even when a device renders their flag pictures at similar sizes.

Use the national SVG when you need a scalable reference that keeps its sharp edges at different sizes. Use the opaque 4000 × 3200 PNG when your software requires a raster image. Keep the 5:4 shape, preserve both bands, and use an accurate text label such as “Flag of Monaco.”

Keep red above white and make both bands equal. Do not add the Grimaldi arms to the bicolor, confuse it with Indonesia or Poland, or describe a reference HEX code as a verified legal formula. Keep the 1881 adoption anniversary separate from National Day, and identify the princely flag as its own design.