Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

St Michael's Parish Church, Linlithgow, Scotland: Scottish version of the royal arms of the Hanoverians, used from 1801 to 1816

Since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, a separate version of the royal arms has been used in Scotland, giving the Scottish elements pride of place.

The shield is quartered, depicting in the first and fourth quarters the lion rampant of Scotland; in the second, the three lions passant guardant of England; and in the third, the harp of Ireland.

The crest atop the Crown of Scotland is a red lion, seated and forward facing, itself wearing the Crown of Scotland and holding the two remaining elements of the Honours of Scotland, namely the Sword of State and the Sceptre of Scotland. This was also the crest used in the royal arms of the Kingdom of Scotland. The slogan, in Scots, appears above the crest, in the tradition of Scottish heraldry, and is an abbreviated form of the full motto: In My Defens God Me Defend.

The supporters change sides and both appear wearing the crowns of their respective Kingdom. The dexter supporter is a crowned and chained unicorn, symbolising Scotland. The sinister supporter is a crowned lion, symbolising England. Between each supporter and the shield is a lance displaying the flag of their respective Kingdom.

The coat also features both the motto Nemo me impune lacessit (No one wounds (touches) me with impunity) and, surrounding the shield, the collar of the Order of the Thistle. On the compartment are a number of thistles, Scotland's national flower.

Royal arms of Elizabeth II, displayed in the parish church of Stone, Kent

Unlike the Acts of Union 1707 with Scotland, the Acts of Union 1800 with Ireland did not provide for a separate Irish version of the royal arms. The crest of the Kingdom of Ireland ("on a wreath Or and Azure, a tower triple-towered of the First, from the portal a hart springing Argent attired and unguled Or") has had little or no official use since the union.

The harp quarter of the royal arms represents Ireland on both the English and Scottish versions. Likewise, one English quarter is retained in the Scottish version, and one Scottish quarter is retained in the English version. Thus, England, Scotland and Ireland are represented in all versions of the royal arms since they came under one monarch. When the Irish Free State established its own diplomatic seals in the 1930s, the royal arms appearing on them varied from those on their UK equivalents by having the Irish arms in two-quarters and the English arms in one.[14]

By contrast, there is no representation at all for Wales in the royal arms, as at the Act of Union 1707 Wales was an integral part of the Kingdom of England pursuant to the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542; thus, it has been argued Wales is represented in the English coat of arms. However the argument is somewhat disingenuous as in 1535 the Welsh Dragon was already part of the Tudor Coat of Arms. Upon the accession of the Tudor monarchs, who were themselves of Welsh descent, a Welsh Dragon was used as a supporter on the royal arms. This was dropped by their successors, the Scottish House of Stuart, who replaced the Tudors' dragon supporter with the Scottish unicorn.

In the 20th century, the arms of the principality of Wales were added as an inescutcheon to the coat of arms of the Prince of Wales, and a banner of those arms with a green inescutcheon bearing the prince's crown is flown as his personal standard in Wales. The so-called Prince of Wales's feathers are a heraldic badge rather than a coat of arms upon a shield, but they are not Welsh in any case. They derive, in fact, from the English Princes of Wales (who may owe them to an exploit of Edward, the Black Prince at the Battle of Crécy) and carry the motto Ich dien (German, "I Serve"). In any event, they do not form part of the royal arms, as opposed to the heraldic achievement of the Prince of Wales, who drops them upon his accession as king.

The current royal arms are a combination of the arms of the former kingdoms that make up the United Kingdom, and can be traced back to the first arms of the kings of England and kings of Scotland. Various alterations occurred over the years as the arms of other realms acquired or claimed by the kings were added to the royal arms. The table below tracks the changes in the royal arms from the original arms of King Richard I of England, and William I, King of Scots.

Kingdom of England Kingdom of Scotland Arms Dates Details 1189–1198 Arms shown on King Richard I's first Great Seal. The tinctures and the appearance of the full shield are uncertain. 1198–1340 The arms on the second Great Seal of King Richard the Lionheart, used by his successors until 1340: three golden lions passant gardant, on a red field.[3] 1340–1377 King Edward III quartered the royal arms of England with the ancient arms of France, the fleurs-de-lis on a blue field, to signal his claim to the French throne.[3] 1377–1399 King Richard II impaled the royal arms of England with the arms attributed to King Edward the Confessor.[3] 1399–1422 King Henry IV updated the French arms to the modern version, three fleurs-de-lis on a blue field.[3] 1422–1461 1470–1471 King Henry VI impaled the French and English arms, using the same arms after his "readeption".[15] 1461–1470 1471–1554 King Edward IV restored the arms of King Henry IV. 1554–1558 Queen Mary I impaled her arms with those of her husband, King Philip of Spain.[3] Although Queen Mary I's father, King Henry VIII, assumed the title "King of Ireland" and this was further conferred upon King Philip, the arms were not altered to feature the Kingdom of Ireland. 1558–1603 Queen Elizabeth I restored the arms of King Henry IV.[3] Arms Dates Details 1214-1249 Reverse of Alexander II's Great Seal, displaying the Lion rampant on saddle and shield. Before 1558 A red lion, rampant, on a yellow field within a double royal tressure, flory counter-flory. 1558 Mary, Queen of Scots, Dauphine of France, impaled with arms of Francis, Dauphin of France.[16] 1558–1559 Mary, Queen of Scots, Dauphine of France, impaled with the dimidated arms of Francis, Dauphin of France, as King consort of Scots.[16] 1559 Mary, Queen of Scots, Dauphine of France, impaled with the dimidated arms of Francis, Dauphin of France, King consort of Scots, both halves incorporating the claim to the English throne made for a short time.[17] 1559–1560 Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen consort of France[16] 1560–1565 Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen dowager of France.[16] 1565–1603 Upon her second marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in 1565, Mary discontinued use of the France impalement, reverting to the arms of the Kingdom of Scotland.[18] King James VI was the last monarch of Scotland to use these arms before the Union of the Crowns in 1603.

Members of the British royal family are granted their own personal arms. In the past, the monarch's younger sons used various differences; and married daughters of the monarch impaled the plain royal arms with their husbands' arms. But for many centuries now, all members of the royal family have had differenced versions of the royal arms settled on them by royal warrant.[25] Only children and grandchildren in the male line of the monarch are entitled to arms in this fashion: the arms of children of the monarch are differenced with a three-point label; while grandchildren of the monarch are differenced with a five-point label. An exception is made for the eldest son of the Prince of Wales, who also bears a three-point label. The labels are always white (argent) and each prince or princess has individual marks to form his or her particular difference, except the Prince of Wales, who uses a plain white three-pointed label.[25] Since 1911, the arms of the Prince of Wales also displays an inescutcheon of the ancient arms of the Principality of Wales.[25]

Queens consort and the wives of sons of the monarch also have their own personal coat of arms. Typically this will be the arms of their husband impaled with their own personal arms or those of their father, if armigerous. However, the consorts of a queen regnant are not entitled to use the royal arms. Thus Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was granted his own personal arms. A notable exception to this rule was Prince Albert, who used the royal arms (differenced by a special label) quartered with his own Saxon royal arms.[25]

Currently the following members of the royal family have their own arms based on the royal arms:

Children and grandchildren of the monarch in the male line
Armorial achievement	Shield	Bearer	Difference(s)
		William, Prince of Wales, outside Scotland	The coat of arms of Edward VIII and Charles III as Prince of Wales was the arms of the United Kingdom with a white label of three points and an inescutcheon bearing the arms of Wales. Crowned with the coronet of the Heir-Apparent. As of 23 September 2022, William has not been granted these arms or a version of them (see introduction to Coat of arms of the Prince of Wales). The tradition is that the King will grant William, as Prince of Wales, a version of these arms. In the meantime, he uses the plain arms of the heir apparent shown at right.
		William, Duke of Rothesay, in Scotland	Used in Scotland, the arms of the Duke of Rothesay are those of Clan Stewart of Appin adapted, namely the quartered arms of the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland and Lord of the Isles (secondary titles of the Duke) with an inescutcheon as Scottish heir apparent (the Royal Arms of Scotland with a blue three-point label).
		Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex	Five-point label with three red escallops in alternate points, alluding to the patrilineal arms of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. The College of Arms has stated that his label will change to one of three points, with each point bearing an escallop, when his father or brother accedes to the throne.[26] · [27] · [28]
		Anne, Princess Royal	Three-point label, the points bearing a red cross, a red heart and a red cross.[3]
		Prince Andrew, Duke of York	Three-point label, the centre point bearing a blue anchor.[3]
		Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi	Five-point label with three bees in alternate points, alluding to the patrilineal arms of her mother, Sarah, Duchess of York.
		Princess Eugenie, Mrs Jack Brooksbank	Five-point label with three thistles in alternate points, alluding to the patrilineal arms of her mother, Sarah, Duchess of York.
		Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex	Three-point label, the centre point bearing a Tudor rose.
		Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester	Five-point label, the first, third and fifth points bearing a red cross, the second and fourth points bearing a red lion.[3]
		Prince Edward, Duke of Kent	Five-point label, the first, third and fifth points bearing a blue anchor, the second and fourth points bearing a red cross.[3]
		Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy	Five-point label, the first and fifth points bearing a red heart, the second and fourth points bearing a blue anchor, and the third bearing a red cross.[3]
		Prince Michael of Kent	Five-point label, the first, third and fifth points bearing a red cross, the second and fourth points bearing a blue anchor.[3]
Consorts
		Camilla, Queen Consort	The arms of the King impaled with those of Camilla's father, Major Bruce Shand, crowned with the royal crown.[29]
		Catherine, Princess of Wales	The arms of the Prince of Wales impaled with those of Catherine's father, Michael Middleton, crowned with the coronet of her husband as the heir apparent.[30]
		Meghan, Duchess of Sussex	The arms of the Duke of Sussex impaled with those of her own design, crowned with the coronet of a child of the sovereign.[31]
		Sophie, Countess of Wessex	The arms of the Earl of Wessex impaled with those granted in 1999 to Sophie's father, Christopher Rhys-Jones, with remainder to his elder brother Theo. The new grant was based on an unregistered 200-year-old design. The lion alludes to one of the Countess' ancestors the Welsh knight Elystan Glodrydd, prince of Ferrig.[32]
		Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester	The arms of the Duke of Gloucester with an escutcheon of pretence granted to her by Royal Warrant on 18 July 1973.[33]
		Katharine, Duchess of Kent	The arms of the Duke of Kent impaled with those of Katharine's father, Sir William Arthington Worsley, 4th Baronet.
		Princess Michael of Kent	The arms of Prince Michael of Kent impaled with those of Marie Christine's father, Baron Günther Hubertus von Reibnitz.

• 
  Coat of arms of Albert, Prince Consort
• 
  Coat of arms of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The version used by the UK Government

The version used by the Scotland Office

Version used on the cover of Acts of Parliament and British Passports, engraved by Reynolds Stone in 1956.

A version used by the UK Government on official websites and departmental insignia

Various versions of the royal arms are used by the Government of the United Kingdom, the Parliament of the United Kingdom and courts in some parts of the Commonwealth.

The UK Government generally uses a simplified version of the royal arms with a crown replacing the helm and crest, and with no compartment.[34] In relation to Scotland, the Scotland Office and the Advocate General for Scotland use the Scottish version, again without the helm or crest, and the same was used as the day-to-day logo of the Scottish Executive until September 2007, when a rebranding exercise introduced the name Scottish Government, together with a revised logo incorporating the flag of Scotland.[35] The Scottish Government continues to use the Arms on some official documents.

The simplified royal arms also feature:

• on all Acts of Parliament;
• on the cover of all UK passports and passports issued in other British territories and dependencies;
• as an inescutcheon on the diplomatic flags of British Ambassadors; and
• on all acts of the Anguilla House of Assembly, the Sovereign Base Areas, Pitcairn Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands administrations;
• on The London Gazette.

Various courts in the Commonwealth also continue to use the royal arms:

• The Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and Provincial Court of British Columbia[36][37]
• The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador[38] and Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador[39]
• The Supreme Court of the Yukon Territory[40]
• The Supreme Court of South Australia[41]
• The Supreme Court of Victoria[42]

Furthermore:

• The crowned shield of the royal arms encircled by the Garter is used by the Home Office, by the Privy Council Office (United Kingdom), and by the Parliament of Victoria.[43]
• The crowned shield of the royal arms is used by the Royal Mint.
• The royal arms with the crest but without the helm is used as the rank insignia for Class 1 Warrant Officers in His Majesty's Armed Forces.