White Flag - Ancien Régime in France

Ancien Régime in France

During the period of the Ancien Régime, starting in the early 17th century, the royal standard of France became a plain white flag as a symbol of purity, sometimes covered in fleur-de-lis when in the presence of the king or bearing the ensigns of the Order of the Holy Spirit.

The white color was also used as a symbol of military command, by the commanding officer of a French army. It would be featured on a white scarf attached to the regimental flag as to recognise French units from foreign ones and avoid friendly fire incidents. The French troops fighting in the American War of Independence fought under the white flag.

The French Navy used a plain white ensign for ships of the line. Smaller ships might have used other standards, such as a fleur-de-lys on white field. Commerce and private ships were authorised to use their own designs to represent France, but were forbidden to fly the white ensign.

During the French Revolution, in 1794, the blue, white and red Tricolor was adopted as the official national flag. The white flag quickly became a symbol of French royalists. (It should be noted that the white part of the French Tricolor is itself originally derived from the old Royal flag, the tricolor having been designed when the revolution still aimed at Constitutional Monarchy rather than a Republic; this aspect of the Tricolor was, however, soon forgotten.)

During the Bourbon Restoration, the white flag replaced the Tricolor, by then seen as a symbol of regicide.

It was finally abandoned in 1830, with the July Revolution, with the definitive use of the blue, white and red flag.

In 1873, an attempt to reestablish the monarchy failed when the comte de Chambord refused to accept the Tricolor. He demanded the return of the white flag before he would accept the throne, a condition that proved unacceptable.

• French white regimental flag at the battle of Denain (1712).

• A French ship of the line at the Battle of Martinique (1780).

• French ships (left), flying the white flag of the Monarchy, at the battle of Chesapeake (1781).

• The surrender of Lord Cornwallis to French (left) and American (right) colonial forces after the battle of Yorktown (1781).

• Royalist army used the white Bourbon ensign, during the French Revolutionary Wars (here, the battle of Quiberon, 1795).