Luxembourg vs The Netherlands

Both countries fly horizontal red, white, and blue tricolors. Luxembourg uses a noticeably lighter sky blue #00A1DE with an elongated 1:2 or 3:5 aspect ratio. The Netherlands uses an intense, dark cobalt blue #21468B and a standard 2:3 ratio.

Play Similarities Ten lookalike rounds.

Luxembourg

The Netherlands

Luxembourg versus The Netherlands
Spec	Luxembourg	The Netherlands
Bottom stripe blue	Light Blue #00A1DE	Cobalt Blue #21468B
Proportions	3:5 (or 1:2)	2:3
Adopted	1972	1937
Colors	Red #EA141D White #FFFFFF Light Blue #00A1DE	Bright Vermilion #AD1D25 White #FFFFFF Cobalt Blue #21468B
Look for	Light sky blue bottom stripe 3:5 is the common official proportion; 1:2 is also allowed Derived from 13th-century red lion on blue/white striped field	Deep cobalt blue bottom stripe Standard 2:3 rectangular ratio Oldest tricolor still in continuous national use

Which flag is Luxembourg?

Royal Unions, Red Lions, and Sky-Blue Ink

The Dutch flag is the ancestor of nearly all modern horizontal tricolors. During the 16th-century Dutch Revolt against Spanish Habsburg rule, William of Orange led rebel forces under the Prince's Flag (orange, white, and blue). Over the 17th century, the orange stripe gradually turned vermilion red, partly because orange dye faded quickly at sea and partly due to political shifts in the Dutch Republic.

Luxembourg's flag appeared in 1845 under Grand Duke William II, who was also King of the Netherlands under a personal union of the two crowns. However, Luxembourg heralds did not copy the Dutch flag. They pulled red, white, and light blue directly from the coat of arms of Count Henry V of Luxembourg, who in 1240 bore a crowned red lion climbing a shield of horizontal white and blue bars.

When the personal union ended in 1890, Luxembourg retained the flag. Because observers constantly confused it with the Dutch banner, Luxembourg's parliament officially distinguished the colors in 1972, specifying the distinct sky blue and recognizing the Roude Léiw (Red Lion ensign) as an official civil flag on water.

Telling them apart

Luxembourg's light blue is defined legally as Pantone 299C, an airy cyan-tinted blue.
The Dutch blue is Pantone 286C, a deep cobalt with strong navy undertones.
The Dutch flag served as the direct inspiration for the Russian tricolor, which in turn spawned the Pan-Slavic flags of Eastern Europe.

Questions

Why did people want Luxembourg to replace its flag with the Red Lion?

In 2006, Luxembourg politician Michel Wolter introduced a legislative initiative to replace the tricolor with the Roude Léiw (Red Lion) flag to eliminate confusion with the Netherlands. The government ultimately kept the tricolor as the state flag while granting the Red Lion equal status for civil and maritime use.

Did the Netherlands ever have an orange stripe?

Yes. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch ships flew orange, white, and blue. Today, the Dutch royal family flies an orange pennant above the red-white-blue flag on royal birthdays and state celebrations.