ROYAL COAT OF ARMS

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26729, 13 May 1952, Page 7

ROYAL COAT OF ARMS

No Changes For Queen (By C. F. HANKINSON, Editor of Debrett] LONDON. May 11. The accession of a Queen to th* Throne will not necessitate any alteration in the Royal Coat of Arms because the reigning Queen is above all ordinary rules of heraldry, and th* arms of the sovereign remain the same, whether for a King or Queen. Normally a woman displays her arms on a lozehge—a diamond-shaped heraldic design used for women instead of the shield borne by men. Other devices in heraldry which a woman does not have are helmets, crests and mottoes. Since she would not wear a helmet it would not seem logical to show one in her armorial achievement, and if she has no helmet she cannot have a crest, as the crest rests upon it. The reason for women not having mottoes is that mottoes have their origin in the war cries shouted to encourage men rushing into battle. Although all kinds of personal devices have been used as a means of identification since the earliest times, heraldry as we know it did not really come into being until the Crusades of the twelfth century when the knight* began to bear emblems on their shields so they could be recognised in tournaments and in battle. It was not long before these heraldic devices came to be passed from father to son, thus making the bearing of arms hereditary.

Evolution of Arms The Royal Arms as they are to-day have evolved through the ages. Originally they consisted of three Hons, passant guardant only, and these were the arms borne by Richard I when on the Crusades. Edward 111, to indicate his claim to the Throne of France, quartered the Royal Arms of that country with those of England showing fleurs-de-lys in the first and fourth quarters, and lions in the second and third. James I. who had been pteviously James VI of Scotland, placed the quartered coat of England atid France as borhe by his English predecessors in the first and fourth quarters, a lion rampant in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third. Various changes have taken place in Royal Arms since that time, and during the reign of George 111 the fieur-de-lys of France disappeared and the first and fourth quarters of the Royal Coat of Arms became simply the arms of England—three Hons passant guardant. On Queen Victoria's accession she shed the arms of Hanover which had appeared on a small shield of pretence placed in the centre of the arms, indicating that her predecessors had also been Kings of Hanover and from that time onwards the Royal arms have remained unaltered. As regards supporters (figures at th* sides of the shields) these do not seem to have been used by English king* until Richard II chose as his. two angels. It appears that in doing so he was following the custom of the times, for the idea of angelic protection for coats of arms was then very popular. At first the Royal supporters changed with almost every king, Henry V being the earliest to have the lion. At various times bulls, boats, dragons, greyhounds, and eagles were also used. Elizabeth I used many different devices and supporters, an’d one exmaple of her achievement in the British Museum shows a lion on the dexter side (to the left as you look at it) and a dragon on the sinister. James I replaced the dragon by the unicorn of Scotland, and since then the Royal supporters have remained unchanged. Badge for Prince All princes and unmarried princesses of the blood Royal are entitled to Royal arms. Obviously they could not all have the same coat ana, therefore, the device known as the label (narrow band with pendant points) was invented as a difference to be placed over the arms. As to the arms of Prince Charles. Duke of Cornwall, it should be noted that since the moment his mother became Queen he was entitled to the use of the badge of Heir Apparent which consists of three ostrich feathers and the motto "Ich Dien” ("I serve”). This plume of feathers is often spoken of as the Prince of Wales’s Feathers, but this description is not really correct since the badge belong* i to the Heir Apparent, whether he ha* been created Prince of Wales or not. It seems unlikely that anything will be done about armorial bearings for the Prince until he is created Prince of Wales, which is confidently expected to be before long. When Prince Charles becomes Prince of Wales he is likely to be granted Hie arms which were borne by the Duke of Windsor when he held that title. As the Prince of Wales is automatically a member of the order he will be able to surround his shield with the Garter. The arms of the Prince of Wales consist of the Roval arms differenced by a plain, silver | lapel. I The arms of the Duke of Edinburgh are not affected by the fact that he is now the husband of the Queen, as he was granted a special coat on his marriage which is entirely different from that of other members of the Royal Family. , Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, land Queen Mary, both have coats of arms combining those of their own | family with those of the Sovereign.