Anguilla - Current

The national flag of Anguilla consists of a Blue Ensign with the British flag in the canton, charged with the coat of arms of Anguilla in the fly. The coat of arms consists of three dolphins, which were featured on a earlier Anguilla flag. The flag was adopted after a previous Governor of Anguilla, Mr. Brian Canty, suggested a new flag and drew sketches which were sent to London for approval by Her Majesty the Queen. The new flag, which was first hoisted on 30th May 1990.

The detail of the coat of arms is as follows, a shield containing three orange dolphins on a white background with a turquoise-blue base. The proportions of the shield, are 5/4. The shield is straight sided until 15/26 of its depth and the light blue occupies 4/13 of the overall size.

The flag is Anguilla's third flag other than as part of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was historically an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located in the Caribbean Sea. This entity later became a province to the short lived West Indies Federation in 1958. When the regional federation of British islands collapsed in 1962, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla became involved in several attempts by movements towards another union in the Caribbean region.

In 1967, the territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was granted full internal autonomy. In 1971, the island of Anguilla rigorously sought and achieved separation; in 1980, the separation from the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis was formally accepted. The island's first flag was a red blue flag featuring the name of the island in yellow and two mermaids. The second flag was the Three Dolphins flag, which immediately became popular and is still used by many People today, although unofficially. The three dolphins are coloured orange, to represent endurance unity and strength, and are in a circle for continuity. The flag has a white background, for peace and tranquillity, with a turquoise-blue base representing the surrounding sea and also faith, youth and hope. The Union Flag and the Three Dolphins flags were used for many years but there was a strong feeling that Anguilla should have its own official flag.