The 25th King’s Own Borderers were presented with new Colours in 1828, but despite the best efforts of their Colonel, General Charles Fitzroy, they were not permitted to have the Arms of Edinburgh, motto or the Royal Crest. Only the title ‘The King’s Own Borderers’ was to be shown on both Colours. Fitzroy appealed to the Adjutant-General, insisting that HM King George III had allowed the regiment to use the motto IN VERITATE RELIIGIONIS CONFIDO with the Royal Crest. But it was not until after Fitzroy’s death in 1831 that King William IV decreed that the regiment could bear the Arms of the City of Edinburgh and motto, and the Royal Crest with the Regimental motto.
The centre of both Colours proudly display the Arms of the City of Edinburgh in the form of a representation of Edinburgh Castle on rocks with a flight of steps, flags flying from three turrets. The motto of the City of Edinburgh NISI DOMINUS FRUSTRA is on a three part scroll beneath a circle inscribed THE KING’S OWN BORDERERS. Surrounding the circle is a wreath of spiky thistle leaves and roses. There is little evidence of thistle flowers or shamrocks.
The central device on both Colours has a crown on top which is more Hanoverian than Victorian, thus dating the Colours before 1837. The Royal Crest in two corners has the crowned lion standing (statant) on a Hanoverian crown with the regimental motto beneath. The other two corners have XXV in the top canton and the White Horse rampant in the lower corner with the Hanoverian motto NEC ASPERA TERRENT. One source suggests that the White Horse was conferred on Scottish regiments fighting on behalf of the crown against Jacobites, and could have been displayed on Colours during the 18th century.
Four battle honours are emblazoned on both Colours (also on both sides):
MINDEN was authorised on 1 Jan 1801
EGYPT and the Sphinx was authorised on 6 July 1802
MARTINIQUE (to the flank companies) authorised on 9 Dec 1819
EGMONT-OP-ZEE authorised on 10 Feb 1820.
In 1844 the Queen’s Colour (Victoria acceded 20 June 1837) was to bear no other device than the number in gold surmounted by the crown, in the centre of the Union. Battle honours were therefore to be borne only on the Regimental Colour. So this King’s Colour was the last time that the battle honours, the Arms of the City of Edinburgh, the Royal Crest, or the White Horse appeared on the Union flag.
