Introduction
The flag of the British Virgin Islands is a British Blue Ensign with a green shield in the fly showing Saint Ursula holding an oil lamp, surrounded by eleven more lamps.
Below runs the motto Vigilate, be watchful.
Meaning & Symbolism
The saint and the lamps are the name of the islands. Columbus called the archipelago Santa Úrsula y las Once Mil Vírgenes, after the legend of Ursula and her eleven thousand companions, because there were so many islands scattered across the sea.
The twelve lamps stand in for that multitude, and the motto Vigilate comes from the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, who were told to keep their lamps lit.
History of the British Virgin Islands Flag
The arms date from 1960 and the flag was adopted on 15 November of that year.
The name has stuck since Columbus sighted the islands in 1493 and reached for a legend about a very large number of virgins to describe a very large number of islands.
Curiosities
- Columbus named the islands after Saint Ursula and her eleven thousand virgins, because there were so many of them.
- The twelve oil lamps stand for that legend, one held and eleven around.
- The motto Vigilate, be watchful, comes from the parable of the wise and foolish virgins and their lamps.
- The territory and the United States Virgin Islands share the name but not the flag, the arms or the government.
- The islands drive on the left but the cars are mostly American, with the steering wheel on the wrong side.
Download Flag
Download the flag of British Virgin Islands in high-quality SVG vector format or PNG raster images. SVG files can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
Digital icon artwork; its proportions may differ from the official flag proportions listed on this page.