The present Doodle honors Belgium’s National Day in remembrance of the date on which Leopold I, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, swore his loyalty to Belgium’s new constitution in 1831. With this promise he was named the main lord of the Belgians, denoting the official beginning of a free Belgian state under his standard.
Outlined in the Doodle fine art is Belgium’s tri-hued, vertically striped banner. Components of the banner’s plan are accepted to go back more than 800 years, as its yellow and dark stripes mirror the gold shield and dark lion found on the seal of Count Philip of Flanders as ahead of schedule as 1171. The mix of each of the three hues can be followed to the emblem of the dukedom of Brabant, which delineates a brilliant lion with a red mouth and paws against a dark foundation.
To pay tribute to Brabant’s necessary early job in Belgium’s battle for freedom, these notable hues were chosen with the reception of Belgium’s 1831 constitution to make up the official banner of the recently sovereign country.
Happy National Day, Belgium!