Flag of Hawaii
The flag of Hawaii (Hawaiian: Ka Hae Hawaiʻi) was first adopted in the early 19th century by the Hawaiian Kingdom and continued to be used after its overthrow in 1893. It is the only U.S. state flag to feature a foreign country's national flag—that of the United Kingdom's Union Jack—which commemorates the Royal Navy's historical relations with the Kingdom of Hawaii, and in particular the pro-British sentiment of its founder and first ruler, King Kamehameha I.
| Ka Hae Hawaiʻi | |
| Use | Civil and state flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 1:2 |
| Adopted | December 29, 1845 |
| Design | Eight alternating horizontal stripes of white, red, and blue, with the United Kingdom's Union Flag (ratio 4:7) in the canton |
The Hawaiian flag is among the most iconic and recognizable in the U.S., being noted by vexillologists for its design and aesthetics. Its eight stripes represent the main islands of the Hawaiian archipelago; while the colors do not have any official symbolism, it is speculated that they reflected the symbols of other Polynesian kingdoms as well as the flags of the foreign powers that first visited Hawaii: The United States, United Kingdom, Russia, and France. Apart from its official usage, the flag of Hawaii is also used by the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, specifically its inverted variant.