I think the flag isnt right

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I have the impression that, the flag on this magnificent painting of J.Cleveley the Elder, it may be not the one used at that time on Royal Caroline. The royal yacht could not have the civil navy ensign flag, since it belonged to the Royal Navy. In guess tha the correct flag would have been the the White Ensign/St George's Ensign, of the Royal Navy.

Is that correct?John_Cleveley_the_Elder_-_The_'Royal_Caroline'.jpg
 
This you can read at the NMM

The 'Royal Caroline' was built in 1749 by Joshua Allin at Deptford and was an adapted sixth-rate. She replaced the 'Carolina' as the principal royal yacht. In 1761 she was sumptuously fitted out to collect the Queen Consort to be, Princess Charlotte, from Kiel, and her name was changed to the 'Royal Charlotte'. This broadside-view ship portrait from off the starboard bow, shows the ship in full sail flying the red and blue ensign and the common pendant. John Cleveley came from an English family of painters. He was born in Southwark, London and did not become a professional painter until the late 1740s. He lived and eventually died in Deptford, London, where he worked as a shipwright in the Royal Dockyard, becoming a part-time painter in adult life, and frequently made ships in Deptford yard the subject in his paintings. It is likely that as he grew older his position as a a shipwright/carpenter became more a sinecure. His work combined depictions of people with topographical accuracy and architectural detail. He was an early exhibiter at the Free Society of Artists in London, and two of his three sons, John Cleveley the Younger and his twin brother, Robert Cleveley also became painters after working in Deptford's Royal Dockyard. The painting has been signed and dated by the artist in the lower-left sea 'Royal Caroline Yacht'. J Cleveley 1750'.



and to make it more confusing: here with the blue ensign
bhc1875.jpg
The launch of the 74-gun warship HMS 'Alexander' at Deptford Dockyard. The 'Alexander' can be seen on the stocks in the background. There are a number of barges and smaller vessels, full of spectators, watching her launch. In the foreground, several Royal Navy vessels are moored off the dockyard, including the 'Royal Caroline' on the far left. The 'Alexander' later served at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. In the painting the festive celebrations are emphasized through the inclusion of flags and pennants and the representation of crowds of spectators on the quayside and in boats the water. With its low horizon the work recalls Dutch 17th-century marine painting. Like his father, John Cleveley the Younger depicted the Royal Dockyards at Deptford, Woolwich and Chatham and in many works the son followed his father’s example in producing paintings commemorating launches. However, the artist abandoned his father’s stiff, documentary style in favour of a more open, atmospheric view. John Cleveley the Younger and his brother Robert, who also worked as an artist, treated a much wider range of subjects and addressed a wider audience through making pictures for reproduction in prints.


another one with red ensign

Maybe the royal yachts "HMY" had the possibilities to change the flag, based on the event the ship was used

Mantua was selling with their kit every times the white ensign - but this is off course no prove

But I also found this this document which will bring some light into your question:

 
I want to show here one of the best Royal Caroline models I have ever seen, with red ensign

_ROYAL_CAROLINE_244.jpg

The modeler is the hungarian Králl Attila who built this amazing model in scale 1:24

 
WOW that is SOME model,thanks for sharing Uwe.
The flag question is an awkward one.On Brittania(now a museum) tradition was that the Royal Standard was flown when Her Majesty was on board.This possibly means that there was some variation on flags used depending on status.I feel that this one question you may struggle to get a definite answer to,this is no standard Navy vessel

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Originally there were 3 Squadrons of the Royal Navy. Each had its own ensign...Blue, Red, White.. hence the 3 we see today...its just today they are used to represent the 3 different fleets...
So in order to depict Caroline with the correct flag for the era which your model depicts would depend on which of the 3 Squadrons she was allocated at that time.
 
Originally there were 3 Squadrons of the Royal Navy. Each had its own ensign...Blue, Red, White.. hence the 3 we see today...its just today they are used to represent the 3 different fleets...
So in order to depict Caroline with the correct flag for the era which your model depicts would depend on which of the 3 Squadrons she was allocated at that time.
Good explained, but herewith we find the problem -> The Caroline was a Royal Yacht and was not part (as I know) of one of the fleets - she was a HMY and not a HMS
 
Royal Caroline was a King’s ship, and as such would carry the ensign of one of the fleets.
in addition to that, an independent ship, that is one not attached to a fleet, would always fly the red ensign.
a ship of a fleet would fly the pennant of that color, while an independent ship would fly a tricolor pennant, which is what we see correctly represented here.
note that in those days, ships other than King’s ships would show a different ensign altogether, such as the one of the HEIC.
merchant ships could show a house flag or their home port flag etc..., but not a naval ensign
 
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