Dutch Flag Confusion on King’s Day

“Am I really as integrated into Dutch society as I think I am?” 

This is a question I’ve started asking myself whenever I stand in front of a mirror, about to use a Dutch flag make-up stick. The fact that I do paint little Dutch flags on my cheeks every King’s Day, Eurovision, football celebration and Tuesday would seem to suggest that I am very well integrated. However, I always have to double check which way up the Dutch flag goes first. I forget if the blue is supposed to go on top or the red.

For this year’s stay-at-home King’s Day I bought a new Dutch flag make-up stick. When I checked the picture on the packaging to see which way up the flag should go I discovered something weird. The two models on the packaging both had the flag a different way around and…

Well, to explain things easier it’s probably better if I just let you read the email I ended up sending to the makers of the Dutch flag make-up stick.

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Dear Sir or Madam,

Hello. My name is Stuart. I’m an Englishman living in the Netherlands. Recently I bought one of your Dutch flag make-up sticks in preparation for King’s Day. 

Even though I’ve lived in the country for a long time I always forget which way up the Dutch flag is supposed to go. As a result I always have to double check correct flag orientation before applying a Dutch make-up flag. Between you and me this could be a sign that I am not as integrated as I like to think but I digress a bit. 

When I consulted the packaging of your product to see if the blue or red went at the top of the Dutch flag I discovered something very confusing. The two models on the packaging were both wearing the flag make-up a different way around. One had the blue at the top and the other the red.

Luckily I was able to google the Dutch flag and find out the answer. However, I was still confused by the two photos on the packaging. It was at this point that I noticed the French text. This led me to think that the make-up stick might double for the French flag (as well as the Dutch).

However, while researching the French flag I discovered that it has vertical lines, not horizontal. Since the male model is wearing his flag with horizontal lines I can only assume it is not the French flag. But then which flag is it? After further research I discovered that the flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia seems to match the photo (horizontal lines, blue at the top).

At first I thought I had found the answer but the single price on the packaging did not fit with my theory. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia uses the Yugoslav Dinar as their currency and not the euro. However, the horizontal lines would still seem to suggest it is in fact the flag of The Kingdom of Yugoslavia… but then why the French text? Why the English text for that matter? As you can tell I was very confused.

Unsure what the answer could be I did the next logical thing. I asked my readers on twitter and facebook. As you can see most of them were unsure too.

Could you please help answer this conundrum? Is that makeup stick intended to be used for the Dutch and French flag or the Dutch and Yugoslavian flag? Is there another flag I am not thinking of? Or is it the French flag rotated sideways to better fit the cheek surface area (but wouldn’t that confuse visitors to France from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia)? 

Thank you for your help.

Kind regards,

Stuart

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I wondered if I would get a reaction. What if they didn’t reply? What if I could never sleep again, forever kept awake by this mystery? Luckily they replied within a few hours.

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Dear Stuart,

Thank you very much for your interesting e-mail and investigation :)

I see that the picture of the male model is not the right French flag, you have seen that very well. It needs to be vertical instead of horizontal. We have noted it and will correct it for the next items.

I wish you a very nice King’s Day tomorrow at home.

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There you have it. It is the Dutch and French flag. Luckily the orange wig is a pretty good clue as to which one is the Dutch one. I can now go on with my life with my cheek flags the right way up.

Luckily people from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia can still use the make-up stick too if they wish.