Flags With a Crown: National Flags That Feature One

Only a handful of national flags feature a crown: Liechtenstein displays a gold princely crown, Montenegro shows a crown atop its double-headed eagle, and Spain carries a crown within the coat of arms on its flag. Several other flags — including Andorra, San Marino, Slovakia, and Serbia — hide crowns inside their emblems or coats of arms.

The Crown as a Symbol on Flags

The crown is one of the oldest symbols of authority in human history, representing monarchy, sovereignty, and the legitimacy of a ruling house. On national flags, a crown almost always signals a country that is (or once was) a monarchy, or a state whose heraldic tradition grew out of royal power. Because most modern flags emerged from republican or revolutionary movements that rejected kings and queens, crowns are surprisingly rare — far rarer than stars, crosses, or crescents.

When a crown does appear, it is usually rendered in gold and placed above another emblem, such as an eagle or a shield. This positioning reinforces the idea that royal authority sits above the state. A crown floating alone on a flag, as in Liechtenstein, is even more unusual and immediately marks the country as a principality with a living monarchy.

Flags With a Crown Shown Directly

• Liechtenstein: A horizontal blue-over-red flag with a gold princely crown set in the blue band near the hoist. The crown was added in 1937 to distinguish the flag from Haiti's, after the two nations discovered their flags were nearly identical at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It represents the unity of the prince and the people.
• Montenegro: A red flag with a gold border bearing the national coat of arms — a golden double-headed eagle topped by a royal crown, with a lion on a shield across the eagle's chest. The crown reflects Montenegro's heritage as a kingdom and its Orthodox monarchical tradition.
• Spain: The red-yellow-red flag carries the Spanish coat of arms toward the hoist, and that emblem is topped by the Spanish Royal Crown. Spain is a constitutional monarchy, and the crown symbolises the unity and permanence of the Spanish state under the monarch.

Crowns Hidden Inside Coats of Arms

Several flags include crowns not as standalone features but tucked within a detailed coat of arms. These are easy to miss at flag size but are unmistakable up close.

• Andorra: The blue-yellow-red tricolour carries a central coat of arms whose top-left quarter shows a bishop's mitre and a crozier, and the design historically incorporates the crown-like insignia of its co-princes. The shield is topped by a small crown-like element reflecting the principality's shared sovereignty.
• San Marino: The white-and-light-blue flag bears a coat of arms topped by a golden crown. San Marino is a republic, but the crown here symbolises the sovereignty and independence of the tiny state rather than any king.
• Slovakia: The white-blue-red tricolour features a shield showing a white double cross rising from three blue hills. The double cross (the Cross of Lorraine) sits above the hills, and in the broader Slovak coat of arms tradition it is associated with royal and ecclesiastical authority stretching back to the medieval Kingdom of Hungary.
• Serbia: The red-blue-white tricolour carries the Serbian coat of arms — a white double-headed eagle on a red shield, topped by a royal crown, with a smaller shield bearing a cross and four firesteels. The crown recalls the Serbian monarchy and the medieval Nemanjic dynasty.
• Fiji (historically): Fiji's light-blue flag long carried a shield derived from its colonial-era coat of arms, and earlier versions of Fijian heraldry included a crown reflecting British sovereignty. The crown motif faded as Fiji moved away from imperial symbolism, but it remains part of the flag's design heritage.

What the Crown Means

A crown on a flag almost always points to monarchy and sovereignty. In Liechtenstein, Spain, and Montenegro it directly signals a royal or formerly royal state. In republics such as San Marino, the crown has been repurposed to mean independence and self-rule rather than the power of any individual monarch. The crown also frequently signals continuity — the idea that the state endures across generations of rulers. Because crowns are so closely tied to kings and queens, newly independent republics have generally avoided them, which is why the symbol appears on so few of the world's roughly 195 national flags.

It is worth noting that many sub-national and historical flags feature crowns far more often than national ones. Royal standards, provincial arms, and city flags across Europe are rich with crowns, but at the national level the symbol is deliberately reserved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which national flag has a crown on it?

Liechtenstein's flag most famously features a crown: a gold princely crown sits in the blue upper band. Montenegro and Spain also show crowns, though theirs appear as part of a coat of arms rather than floating on their own.

Why was a crown added to Liechtenstein's flag?

The gold crown was added in 1937 after Liechtenstein realised at the 1936 Berlin Olympics that its blue-and-red flag was almost identical to Haiti's. The crown made the flag unique and symbolised the union of the reigning prince and the people.

What does a crown symbolise on a flag?

A crown symbolises monarchy, sovereignty, and the enduring authority of the state. In monarchies it represents the ruling house, while in republics like San Marino it can represent independence and self-rule rather than a king.