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East India Company (United Kingdom)

Description and history of the flag

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United Kingdom

Description and history of the flag

I have two books here on "The Honourable Company", The East India Company by Brian Gardner (Dorset Press, 1971), and The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company by John Keay (Macmillan, 1991). I've only

Anyhow, both feature the arms of the EIC, which I'll attempt to describe here. White shield with red cross (a la the flag of England) with some small shield with something I can't make out in the upper left quadrant. A rampant lion on either side as supporters, holding a flag pole with the Union Jack flying behind. Above the shield, a rampant lion holding a crown. Interestingly enough, the Gardner book has a few changes, with the tw crown-holding lion.

Both bear the motto Auspicio Regis et Senatus Anglia below, which means "By the Command of the King and Parliament of England".

The photographs in Keay's book show the Union Jack flying over various forts and factories of the EIC, with some ships flying the British White Ensign. Surat might also be flying some other ensign, but it's unclear; Bombay Castle might have something

Dipesh Navsaria, 1995-NOV-18

(Translation of the motto by Anton Sherword, 1995-NOV-18)