Coat of Arms of England
Royal Arms of England | | - | | |  | 1406 - 1603 |
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The
Royal Coat of Arms of England was the official coat of arms of the
Monarchs of England, and were used as the official coat of arms of the
Kingdom of England until the
Union of the Crowns in
1603. Afterwards, the arms became an integral part of the
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. The spread of the
British Empire has led to the arms being incorporated in various other coats of arms of the UK's former colonies.
Kingdom of England
Following the
Norman conquest of
England after
1066, the arms of the
House of Normandy were used in England, two golden lions on a red field. The succession of
King Henry II of the
House of Plantagenet in
1158 saw the first known arms of an English monarch used, a golden lion on a red field.
When
King Richard I ("The Lionheart") came to the throne he adopted his personal arms as three golden lions on a red field. The origin of these arms is thought to be based on the earlier Norman arms. According to one tradition, the extra lion was added to two existing Norman lions to represent the combined
Anglo-Norman realm. According to another tradition the two leopards were combined with the single leopard of
Aquitaine on the acquisition of these continental territories by the English Crown. Other heraldic authorities have claimed that at an early stage in the development of
heraldry the number of Norman lions was not fixed and that it is simply a matter of design as to why England has ended up with three heraldic lions and Normandy with two.
In
1340,
King Edward III laid claim to the
throne of France and quartered the English arms with those of the
France, the "France Ancient", a blue shield with a tight pattern of small golden
fleur de lis of the French royal house.
In
1406, the French quarterings were updated to the modern French arms, three fleurs-de-lis on a blue field.
Union of Crowns
On the death of
Queen Elizabeth I in
1603,
King James VI of
Scotland inherited the English throne, becoming King James I of England. The arms of England were quartered with those of
Scotland. A quarter for the
Kingdom of Ireland was also added, as the English monarch was also
King of Ireland.
The French arms were dropped from the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom in
1801 when
King George III renounced the claim to the French throne. From that point, the heraldic representation of England reverted to the version used between 1198 and 1340, three golden lions on a red field.
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Arms of the Football Association |
The arms of England are not used in any official capacity on their own, although they do feature in the first and fourth quarters of the
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. However, the arms of both the
Football Association and the
England and Wales Cricket Board are based on the three lions design. In recent years, it has been common to see banners of the arms flown at English football matches, in the same way the
Lion Rampant is flown in Scotland.
In
1996,
Three Lions was the official song of the England football team for the
1996 European Football Championship, which were held in England.
The spread of the
British Empire has led to incorporation of the Royal Arms of England, or elements thereof, in the coats of arms of many other countries and territories.
Canada
*
Coat of arms of Canada*
Coat of Arms of New Brunswick*
Coat of arms of Prince Edward Island*
Coat of arms of SaskatchewanCommonwealth
*
Coat of Arms of FijiOverseas Territories and Crown Dependencies
*
Coat of arms of the Cayman Islands*
Coat of arms of Guernsey*
Coat of arms of JerseyUK
* The arms of the
Duchy of Lancaster is that of England with a label of three points each containing three fleurs-de-lis. This was the shield of
Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster (1245-96), the younger son of
Henry III.
* The royal arms, as used between 1406 and 1603, appear as part of the arms of
Westminster Abbey.
French was the language of English government for a few centuries after the Norman Conquest of
1066, and in French
blazon a
lion, without further description, is always rampant; a lion passant guardant – one that is walking forward and facing outward toward the viewer – is always called a
léopard. A lion rampant guardant is a
léopard lionné, and one passant but with its head in profile is a
lion léopardé. The terms describe the animal's posture, not his species. Whatever the beast is called, the heraldic lion or leopard should always have at least a hint of a
mane.
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Flag of England
