Editing Flag of Romania (section)

===United Principalities of Romania===

[[File:Flag of the United Principalities of Romania (1862–1866).svg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Flag of the United Principalities of Romania (1859–1866)]]

From 1859 until 1866, the [[United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia]] had a red-yellow-blue Romanian tricolor, with horizontal stripes, as national flag.<ref>Năsturel (1900/1901), p. 253</ref>

The flag was described in ''Almanahul român din 1866'' as: "a tricolor flag, divided in three stripes, red, yellow and blue and laid out horizontally: red above, blue below and yellow in the middle".<ref name="Pălănceanu 1974">Pălănceanu (1974), p. 145.</ref>

Although the Ottoman Empire did not allow the United Principalities to have their own symbols, the new flag gained a degree of international recognition. Relating prince Cuza's May–June 1864 journey to [[Constantinople]], doctor [[Carol Davila]] observed: "The Romanian flag was raised on the great mast, the Sultan's kayaks awaited us, the guard was armed, the Grand Vizier at the door... The Prince, quiet, dignified, concise in his speech, spent 20 minutes with the Sultan, who then came to review us… Once again, the Grand Vizier led the Prince to the main gate and we returned to the Europe Palace, the Romanian flag still fluttering on the mast...".<ref>Mihalache (1967), pp. 180–1.</ref>

[[File:Flag of Romania.svg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Flag of Romania (1867–1948)]]

Article 124 of the [[1866 Constitution of Romania]] provided that "the colors of the United Principalities will be Blue, Yellow and Red".<ref>''[[:ro:s:Constituția României (1866)|Constituția României]]'', 1866, title VI, art. 124.</ref> The order and placement of the colors were decided by the [[Chamber of Deputies (Romania)|Assembly of Deputies]] in its session of 26 March 1867. Thus, following a proposal by [[Nicolae Golescu]], they were placed just as in 1848:<ref>Năsturel (1900/1901), p. 257</ref> vertically and in the following order: blue hoist, yellow in the middle and red fly.

The country's coat of arms was placed only on army and princely flags, in the center; civilian flags remained without a coat of arms.<ref name="Velcu 1938, p. 81">Velcu (1938), p. 81</ref> The same distinction was made between flags of the Navy and those of the civil and merchant ships.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Păunescu |first1=Cristian |last2=Manea |first2=Nadia |date=2024-03-15 |title=Agenția Sighet a Băncii Naționale a României în perioada 1921–1950 |url=https://doi.org/10.59277/aicsus.30.08 |journal=Anuarul Institutului de Cercetări Socio-Umane Sibiu |volume=30 |pages=113–134 |doi=10.59277/aicsus.30.08 |issn=1223-1088}}</ref>

The rapporteur [[Mihail Kogălniceanu]], who also conveyed the opinion of [[Cezar Bolliac]], [[Dimitrie Brătianu]], [[Constantin Grigorescu]], [[Ion Leca]], [[Nicolae Golescu]] and [[Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino]], said: "The tricolor flag as it is today is not (as the minister claims) the flag of the United Principalities. It is much more: it is itself the flag of the Romanian nation in all lands inhabited by Romanians".<ref>Năsturel (1900/1901), p. 257.</ref>

The "Law for modifying the country's arms" of 11/23 March 1872 did not change these provisions, only the design of the coat of arms.<ref name="Velcu 1938, p. 81"/>