The current system of personal flags for the monarch and other members of the royal family was introduced in 1908.

The flags are used to mark the presence of an individual in certain buildings, when on vehicles (e.g. a car or ship), or in an army unit.

Upon the accession of King Willem-Alexander in 2013, the monarch's flag was slightly modified: Instead of a rosette, a bow is placed in the ribbon of the Military William Order.

The adjustments were applied on 30 April 2013 immediately after Willem-Alexander ascended the throne The standard of a Dutch prince is rectangular and of proportions 5:6.

Flags of princes born into the royal family consist of a Nassau-blue cross on an orange field.

However, the left portion of a princess' flag contains the usual hunting horn of Orange and a personal insignia (obtained from the coat of arms of the princess' family married into the royal family) in the upper and lower left quarters of the flag respectively.

In general, the standard of a queen consort, or the wife of a prince of the Netherlands, is a flag in the form of a swallow tail.