Flag of Greece designs differ according to the historical era they were used in and in accordance with the political scene in Greece at the time. The first flag to be used by a head of state of Greece was that of King Otto of Greece. Following the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece in 1832, the 17-year old Bavarian prince Otto was selected as king for the newfound monarchy. A royal decree dated 4 (16) April 1833 prescribed a number of maritime flags, including the royal standard. This flag, set at a 7:10 ratio, was a variant of the Greek white-cross-on-blue and
Flag of Greece flags was the "labarum". In the surviving pictorial sources of the middle and later Empire, primarily the illustrated Skylitzes Chronicle, the predominating colours are red and blue in horizontal stripes, with a cross often placed in the centre of the flag. Other common symbols, prominently featuring on seals, were depictions of Christ, the Virgin Mary and saints, but these represent personal rather than family or state symbols. Western European-style heraldry was largely unknown until the last centuries of the Empire. There is no mention of any "state" flag until the mid-14th century, when a Spanish atlas, the "Conosçimiento de todos