British Virgin Islands Flag

Description

The British Virgin Islands flag is available from Flags Online in full-size and desk formats, printed on both sides and made to last outdoors.

About the British Virgin Islands Flag

The British Virgin Islands flag is a blue ensign that marks the territory out as a British Overseas Territory while carrying its own distinct badge in the fly. Like other UK-linked territories, it places the Union Jack in the upper canton and reserves the rest of the deep blue field for a coat of arms unique to the islands, set on a white shield toward the fly edge.

The shield itself shows a female figure holding a flaming gold oil lamp, standing among eleven smaller gold lamps arranged around her, with the Latin motto “Vigilate”, meaning “be watchful”, carried on a scroll beneath.

Colours and Symbolism

The blue field is the standard backdrop used across the British ensign system and signals the territory’s constitutional link to the United Kingdom. The badge on the British Virgin Islands flag draws on the old legend of Saint Ursula and her eleven thousand companions, a story said to have inspired the islands’ name when early European sailors passed through the archipelago.

The single lamp held by the central figure represents Ursula herself, and the eleven surrounding lamps stand in for her followers, giving the badge a direct link to how the Virgin Islands came to be called by that name. “Vigilate” underlines a theme of watchfulness that has stayed part of the territory’s official identity.

History of the British Virgin Islands Flag

Before the current design, the territory was administered as part of the British Leeward Islands and had no separate flag of its own. The British Virgin Islands flag was officially adopted on 15 November 1960, once the islands became a separate colony with their own coat of arms.

The badge was revised on 25 January 1999, when the shield was enlarged and given a white outline to make it clearer at a distance, but the core figures, the lamp-bearing woman and her eleven attendant lamps, have stayed the same since 1960. This keeps a direct visual line back to the original grant even after the later refinement.

Flying and Displaying the Flag

As with other ensigns of British Overseas Territories, the British Virgin Islands flag is properly flown with the Union Jack canton uppermost and nearest the hoist, never upside down or mirrored. Government buildings and vessels registered in the territory fly the ensign to show their status, and it appears widely during Territory Day celebrations and other civic occasions. When displayed alongside other national or territorial flags, standard protocol calls for flags of equal rank to be flown at the same height, with the flag of the sponsoring state given precedence where a hierarchy applies.

British Virgin Islands Flag Sizes and Pricing

• 180 x 120cm — R860
• 22 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R800
• 10 x 15cm Desk Flag (10 units) — R650
• 90 x 60cm — R400

Material and Construction

Made from 100% polyester bunting material and digitally printed on both sides. Hemmed all around with two rows of stitching and finished with a polyester webbing heading. Rope and toggle for hoisting included.

Supplied in packs of 10. Printed on both sides onto polyester and supplied with a black plastic stick and removable base — take the base off and it doubles as a hand waving flag.

Flying your British Virgin Islands flag outdoors? Pair it with one of our ground flag poles or building-mounted flag poles. For offices, boardrooms and classrooms, our indoor flag poles keep it upright and off the floor. You can also browse our full range of North American flags.

Ordering and Delivery

Every British Virgin Islands flag is printed to order and dispatched from our Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg branches, with courier delivery nationwide. Bulk and school orders are welcome — contact us for volume pricing on quantities of 10 or more.

Order Lead Times

Almost everything we make is freshly printed and made to order, just for you! So please allow 3–5 working days for us to prepare your order before it heads out the door. We’ll always try to get it to you sooner where we can. Some fast movers, like South African flags, ship quicker as they’re often in stock.

One quick thing to keep in mind: the “next working day” you see on your order confirmation is the courier’s delivery time from the day we dispatch — not from the day you place your order. So it’s really 3–5 days to prepare + next-day delivery.

Good things are worth the wait — we’re excited to get your order into your hands.

Additional information