Iolani Palace
Happy Kamehameha Day! Did you know that the Hawaiian flag went through several stages before it became the well-known icon you see today?
The Kingdom of Hawaii flag (1793 – 1794) represents an evolution from British contacts beginning in 1793 when Captain Vancouver gifted to King Kamehameha a Red Ensign, the flag used by the British Merchant Navy.
Kamehameha then flew this flag over places held in high esteem by Hawaiians. Kamehameha then adopted the Union Flag of Great Britain (1794 – 1816) as Hawaii’s national flag for more than two decades as he began his military conquest to unify the Hawaiian archipelago.
After completing the unification of all the islands by 1810 and consolidating his power as the supreme monarch, King Kamehameha I adopted a new national flag (1816-1845) that is similar to the one currently used by the State of Hawaii.
At the opening of the Legislative Council on May 25, 1845, a new national banner was unfurled with slight modifications. It kept the British Union Flag in the canton (upper left) with eight stripes alternating white, red, and blue. The stripes represented the eight inhabited islands under one sovereign while the Union Jack symbolized the friendly relations between the British and Hawaiian monarchies.
It has hoist-to-fly proportions of 1:2 (identical to the current British flag). In other words, the flag is twice as long as it is tall. The flag you see flying over Iolani Palace is 6 feet by 12 feet, while the one over the Barracks is 3 feet by 6 feet. This differs from the proportions of the flag used by the State of Hawaii, which has a 2:3 ratio (i.e. 6 ft. by 9 ft.).
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