Philip Tibbetts’s Lanarkshire proposal, depicts elements found in the arms of the former county council

which in turn repeats the charge of a red heart, included in the arms of one of the locally important families, the Clan Douglas

The heart is that of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, who wanted it buried in the Holy Land. This mission was entrusted to a Douglas in 1330 but death intervened en route and so the heart was returned to Scotland to be buried in Melrose Abbey. Ever since the heart has been part of the Douglas arms. The white triangle of the proposed flag symbolises the valley of Clydesdale – the county containing the valley of the Clyde river. The red heart is held to recall the passion and life flowing through the River Clyde and certainly though essentially a very simple design, this flag projects something of an infectious vibrancy.