Flag of the British Virgin Islands
flag of the British overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands
The flag of the British Virgin Islands was adopted by Royal Warrant on 15 November 1960 after the islands were made into a separate British colony. Previously, the territory was administered as part of the British Leeward Islands.
Description
The flag of the Virgin Islands features a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and defaced with the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands. The coat of arms, which date to the early nineteenth century, features Saint Ursula holding a flaming gold oil lamp and surrounded by a further eleven lamps, which represent her 11,000 virgin followers. The islands were named after these virgin followers by Christopher Columbus when he arrived at the islands in 1493, the multiplicity of islands reminding him of the numerous followers. The motto present on the flag reads Vigilate, which translated from Latin is be watchful. The flag was modified in 1999, when the shield was enlarged and outlined in white.
Etiquette
The flag of the Virgin Islands must never be flown above another flag, indicating superiority, or vice versa, indicating inferiority, nor should it be allowed to drag along the ground. The flag must always be flown in good condition, to do otherwise would be to show disrespect to the nation. Due care must be taken to ensure the flag is being flown the correct way up.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Flag of the British Virgin Islands” as flag of the British overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as flag of the British overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q204120. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1960, 1493 and 1999.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Flag of the British Virgin Islands”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Flag of the British Virgin Islands primary sources, Flag of the British Virgin Islands archive and Flag research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Flag of the British Virgin Islands” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.