Royal arms of England

The second Great Seal of King Richard the Lionheart (1189–1199) was the first royal emblem of England to feature three lions

The three lions passants guardants or attributed to William I and his successors Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, John and Henry III by Matthew Paris in Historia Anglorum and Chronica Majora in the 1250s.

The first documented use of royal arms dates from the reign of Richard I (1189–1199). Much later antiquarians would retrospectively invent attributed arms for earlier kings, but their reigns pre-dated the systematisation of hereditary English heraldry that only occurred in the second half of the 12th century.[9] Lions may have been used as a badge by members of the Norman dynasty: a late-12th century chronicler reports that in 1128, Henry I of England knighted his son-in-law, Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and gave him a gold lion badge. The memorial enamel created to decorate Geoffrey's tomb depicts a blue coat of arms bearing gold lions. His youngest son, William FitzEmpress, used an equestrian seal showing a coat with a single lion rampant,[21] while the eldest son, Henry II (1133–1189) used a lion as his emblem, and based on the arms used by his sons and other relatives, he may have used a coat of arms with a single lion or two lions, though no direct testimony of this has been found.[22] His children experimented with different combinations of lions on their arms. Richard I (1189–1199) used a single lion rampant, or perhaps two lions affrontés, on his first Great Seal of England,[5] but later used three lions passant in his 1198 Great Seal. The arms bear a striking resemblance to the family arms of the Hohenstaufen Emperors adopted at nearly the same time, which Richard would have been acquainted with from his travels, and would show his personal alliance with them.[23][24] Richard's brother John had used a seal during the reigns of his father and elder brother that showed two lions passant,[21][22] but his adoption of his brother's three-lion arms on his succession established this as the lasting design of the royal arms of England.[5][22]

In 1340, following the extinction of the House of Capet, Edward III claimed the French throne. In addition to initiating the Hundred Years' War, Edward III expressed his claim in heraldic form by quartering the royal arms of England with the arms of France. This quartering continued until 1801, with intervals in 1360–1369 and 1420–1422.[5]

Following the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the throne of England was inherited by the Scottish House of Stuart, resulting in the Union of the Crowns: the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland were united in a personal union under James VI and I.[25] As a consequence, the royal arms of England and Scotland were combined in the king's new personal arms. Nevertheless, although referencing the personal union with Scotland and Ireland, the royal arms of England remained distinct from the royal arms of Scotland, until the two realms were joined in a political union in 1707, leading to a unified royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom.[12]

Kingdom of England (Under personal union with the Kingdom of Scotland from 1603 to 1707)
Escutcheon	Period	Description
	1189–1198	The arms of Richard I are only known from two armorial seals, and hence the tinctures can not be determined. His First Great Seal showed one lion on half of the shield. It is debated whether this was meant to represent two lions combatant or a single lion, and if the latter, whether the direction in which the lion is facing is relevant or simply an artistic liberty. A simple lion rampant is most likely.[26]
	1198–1340 1360–1369	The arms on the second Great Seal of Richard I, used by his successors until 1340: Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or.[5][9]
	1340–1360 1369–1395 1399–1406	Edward III adopted the arms of France Azure semé of fleurs de lys or (powdering of fleurs-de-lis on a blue field) – representing his claim to the French throne - and quartered the royal arms of England.
	1395–1399	Richard II adopted the attributed arms of King Edward the Confessor and impaling the royal arms of England, denoting a mystical union.
	1406–1422	Henry IV abandoned the attributed arms of King Edward the Confessor, and reduced the fleurs-de-lis to three, in imitation of Charles V of France.[9][27]
	1422–1461 1470–1471	Henry VI adopted the arms of France and impaling the arms of England, symbolising the dual monarchy, with France shown in the dexter position of greater honour.
	1461–1470 1471–1554	Edward IV restored the arms of Henry IV.[27]
	1554–1558	Mary I and Philip impaled their arms. Philip's arms were: A. arms quarterly Castile and Leon, B. per pale Aragon and Aragon-Sicily, the whole enté en point Granada; in base quarterly Austria, Burgundy ancient, Burgundy modern and Brabant, with an escutcheon (in the nombril point) per pale Flanders and Tyrol.[9][27] Although Queen Mary I's father, King Henry VIII, assumed the title of King of Ireland and this was further conferred upon King Philip, the arms were not altered to feature the Kingdom of Ireland. As sovereigns of Milan, Mary and Philip added an escutcheon of the Duchy of Milan used since the time of the Sforza: It presented the Biscione, an azure serpent in the act of consuming a human, showing in argent and quartering with the Imperial eagle (the earlier single-headed) on a shield or. The order in what are shown the English and French arms on English quarters is altered respect the usual due to French Claims to the Duchy.[28]
	1558–1603	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth I restored the arms of Henry IV.[9]
	1603–1649 1660–1689	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of King James I of England and VI of Scotland. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of King James II of England and VII of Scotland. James I inherited the English throne in 1603, establishing a union with Scotland, and quartered the royal arms of England with those of Scotland. The royal arms of Ireland was added to represent the Kingdom of Ireland. Last used by Anne, this was the final version of the royal arms of England before being subsumed into the royal arms of Great Britain.[9][27]
	1689–1694	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of Queen Mary II of England and Scotland. James II was deposed and replaced with his daughter Mary II and son-in-law and nephew William III. As co-monarchs, they impaled their arms, with the husband's arms taking the dexter half of greatest honour, as heraldic custom dictates. William bore the royal arms with the addition of an inescutcheon of Nassau (the royal house to which William belonged): Azure billetty or, a lion rampant of the last armed and langued gules, while Mary bore the royal arms undifferenced.[29]
	1694–1702	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of King William III of England and II of Scotland. After the death of Mary II, William III reigned alone, and used his arms only.[9]
	1702–1707	Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coats of arms of Queen Anne of Great Britain. Anne inherited the throne upon the death of William III, and the royal arms returned to the 1603 version.[9]

The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom as used by Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 contains that of England in the first and fourth quarters

Royal standard of George III post-Acts of Union 1800, made of hand-sewn wool bunting.

On 1 May 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged to form that of Great Britain; this was reflected by impaling their arms in a single quarter. The claim to the French throne continued, albeit passively, until it was mooted by the French Revolution and the formation of the French First Republic in 1792.[5] During the peace negotiations at the Conference of Lille, from July to November 1797, the French delegates demanded that the King of Great Britain abandon the title of King of France as a condition of peace. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Under King George III of the United Kingdom, a proclamation of 1 January 1801 set the royal style and titles and modified the royal arms, removing the French quarter and putting the arms of England, Scotland and Ireland on the same structural level, with the dynastic arms of Hanover moved to an inescutcheon.[5]

Kingdom of Great Britain (and later, of Great Britain and Ireland)
Escutcheon	Period	Description
	1707–1714	The impaled arms of England and Scotland reflecting their merging into one kingdom of "Great Britain".
	1714–1801	The English and Scottish lions in the 4th quarter were replaced with a set of arms showing the origins of the House of Hanover as a result of the Act of Settlement.
	1801–1816	The arms showing the status of the constituent realms of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland and Ireland. The Hanoverian dynastic arms were moved to an inescutcheon with an electoral bonnet.
	1816–1837	The arms showing Hanover raised to the status of a kingdom after the Napoleonic wars.
	1837–1952	The Hanoverian dynastic arms were dropped on the accession of Queen Victoria. As Hanover followed the Salic law, she could not accede to the throne of Hanover.
	1952–present	After Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne in 1952, the Irish harp was changed to a simpler design, similar to the Trinity College harp, but not exactly the same. The Trinity College harp is used on the President of Ireland’s flag.

English heraldry flourished as a working art up to around the 17th century, when it assumed a mainly ceremonial role.[5] The royal arms of England continued to embody information relating to English history.[5] Although the Acts of Union 1707 placed England within the Kingdom of Great Britain, prompting new, British royal arms, the royal arms of England are still used occasionally in an official capacity,[30] and has continued to endure as one of the national symbols of England,[3] and has a variety of active uses. For instance, the coats of arms of both The Football Association[14][31] and the England and Wales Cricket Board[32] have a design featuring three lions passant, based on the historic royal arms of England. In 1997 (and again in 2002), the Royal Mint issued a British one pound (£1) coin featuring three lions passant to represent England.[33] To celebrate St George's Day, in 2001, Royal Mail issued first– and second-class postage stamps with the royal crest of England (a crowned lion), and the royal arms of England (three lions passant) respectively.[34]

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  The royal arms of England as depicted on the Kings Arms pub in Blakeney, Norfolk
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  A British one pound (£1) coin, issued in 1997, featuring three lions passant, representing England.[33]
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  A modern, commercially available royal banner of England, printed on polyester fabric
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  The arms worn by England cricket team, the national football team removed the original crown to distinguish it from the cricket team in 1949.[35]

The original royal crest as introduced by Edward III, borne upon a chapeau and with a red mantling lined in ermine. The steel helm has gold embellishments.

The first addition to the shield was in the form of a crest borne above the shield. It was during the reign of Edward III that the crest began to be widely used in English heraldry. The first representation of a royal crest was in Edward's third Great Seal, which showed a helm above the arms, and thereon a gold lion passant guardant standing upon a chapeau, and bearing a royal crown on its head.[36] The design underwent minor variations until it took on its present form in the reign of Henry VIII: "The Royal Crown proper, thereon a lion statant guardant Or, royally crowned also proper".[36]

The exact form of crown used in the crest varied over time. Until the reign of Henry VI it was usually shown as an open circlet adorned with fleurs-de-lys or stylised leaves. On Henry's first seal for foreign affairs the design was altered with the circlet decorated by alternating crosses formy and fleurs-de-lys. From the reign of Edward IV the crown bore a single arch, altered to a double arch by Henry VII. The design varied in details until the late 17th century, but since that time has consisted of a jewelled circlet, above which are alternating crosses formy and fleurs-de-lys. From this spring two arches decorated with pearls, and at their intersection an orb surmounted by a cross formy.[36] A cap of crimson velvet is shown within the crown, with the cap's ermine lining appearing at the base of the crown in lieu of a torse.[36] The shape of the arches of the crown has been represented differently at different times, and can help to date a depiction of the crest.[36]

The helm on which the crest was borne was originally a simple steel design, sometimes with gold embellishments. In the reign of Elizabeth I a pattern of helm unique to the royal arms was introduced. This is a gold helm with a barred visor, facing the viewer.[37] The decorative mantling (a stylised cloth cloak that hangs from the helm) was originally of red cloth lined with ermine, but was altered to cloth of gold lined ermine by Elizabeth.[37]

The supporters of the royal arms of England, such as the dragon and greyhound seen here at King's College, Cambridge, can identify specific monarchs and assist with dating ancient buildings.[27]

Animal supporters, standing on either side of the shield to hold and guard it, first appeared in English heraldry in the 15th century. Originally, they were not regarded as an integral part of arms, and were subject to frequent change. Various animals were sporadically shown supporting the royal arms of England, but it was only with the reign of Edward IV that their use became consistent. Supporters fell under the regulation of the Kings of Arms in the Tudor period. The heralds of that time also prochronistically created supporters for earlier monarchs, and although these attributed supporters were never used by the monarchs concerned, they were later used to signify them on public buildings or monuments completed after their deaths, for instance at St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle.[38][39]

The boar adopted by Richard III prompted William Collingbourne's quip "The Rat, the Cat, and Lovell the Dog, Rule all England under the Hog",[note 2][27] and William Shakespeare's derision in Richard III.[note 3][40] The red dragon, a symbol of the Tudor dynasty, was added upon the accession of Henry VII, and used by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.[27] After the Union of the Crowns, the supporters of the arms of the British monarch became—and have remained—the Lion and the Unicorn, representing England and Scotland respectively.[27]

Edward III founded the Order of the Garter in about 1348. Since then, the full achievement of the royal arms has included a representation of the Garter, encircling the shield. This is a blue circlet with gold buckle and edging, bearing the order's Old French motto Honi soit qui mal y pense ("Shame be to him who thinks evil of it") in gold capital letters.[37]

A motto, placed on a scroll below the royal arms of England, seems to have first been adopted by Henry IV in the early 15th century. His motto was Souverayne ("sovereign").[37] His son, Henry V adopted the motto Dieu et mon droit ("God and my right"). While this motto has been exclusively used since the accession of George I in 1714, and continues to form part of the royal arms of the United Kingdom, other mottoes were used by certain monarchs in the intervening period.[37] Veritas temporis filia ("truth is the daughter of time") was the motto of Mary I (1553–1558), Semper Eadem ("always the same") was used by Elizabeth I (1558–1603) and Anne (1702–1714), James I (1603–1625) sometimes used Beati pacifici ("blessed are the peacemakers"), while William III (1689–1702) used the motto of the House of Orange: Je maintiendrai ("I will maintain").[37]

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  The banner of the Duchy of Lancaster with the royal banner of England defaced with a blue label of three points, each point containing three fleurs-de-lis.
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  The royal Standard of the United Kingdom with the royal banner of England in the first and fourth quarters.
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  The royal standard of the United Kingdom used in Scotland, with the royal banner of England in the second quarter.