national flag, ceremoniously raised each morning in every town and village,
is composed of five horizontal bands of red, white, and blue. Outer bands
of red representing the nation enclose equal inner bands of white evoking
religion. The blue band, occupying the central one-third of the total area,
symbolizes the monarchy. The harmony of design expresses the complimentary
nature of these three pillars of the Thai nation.
This tri-colored flag, called in Thai the “trirong”, first introduced
by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1917, succeeded an earlier design that
placed a white elephant (emblem of the absolute monarch) on a red background.