Culture of Wales the 17th and 18th centuries, it became common practice in Great Britain for the gentry to wear leeks on St. David's Day. In 1807, a "a red dragon passant standing on a mound" was made the King's badge for Wales. Following an increase in nationalism in 1953, it was proposed to add the motto "Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn" ("the red dragon takes the lead") to the flag. This was poorly received, and six years later Queen Elizabeth II intervened to put the current flag in place. The daffodil is a more recent development, becoming popular during the 19th century.
Flag of Wales form of the Draco standards borne by the Roman cavalry, itself inspired by the symbols of the Dacians or Parthians. The Olm (Proteus anguinus) of Slovenia bear a similarity in miniature to the Draco standard and they are referred to as baby cave dragons by the locals. The green and white stripes of the flag were additions by the House of Tudor, the Welsh dynasty that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. Green and white are also the colours of the leek, another national emblem of Wales. The oldest known use of the dragon to represent Wales is