Introduction
The flag of Saint Helena is a British Blue Ensign with the island arms in the fly: a wirebird on a yellow chief above a three masted ship sailing past the cliffs of the island.
Meaning & Symbolism
The wirebird is the Saint Helena plover, found nowhere else in the world and named for its thin legs. It is the national bird and it is endangered.
The ship and the cliffs are the reason the island mattered: a supply stop on the sea route between Europe and Asia, with sheer rock rising straight out of the Atlantic.
History of the Saint Helena Flag
The arms have been in use since 1984.
Saint Helena is one of the remotest inhabited places on earth, about 1,900 kilometres from the nearest land. Napoleon was exiled here in 1815 and died here in 1821, which is what the island is chiefly known for. An airport finally opened in 2016, ending centuries of access only by sea.
Curiosities
- The wirebird on the arms is the Saint Helena plover, which exists nowhere else and is endangered.
- Napoleon was exiled here in 1815 and died here in 1821.
- Until 2016 the only way in was by ship, and the island had no airport at all.
- The airport, when it opened, turned out to be affected by dangerous wind shear on the approach.
- It is about 1,900 kilometres from the nearest land.
Download Flag
Download the flag of Saint Helena 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.