CHAPTER XVIII

THE ROYAL HERALDRY OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND

_Shields of Arms of the Reigning Sovereigns of England; of Scotland; of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland-- Crests-- Supporters-- Mottoes-- Crowns-- Banners-- Armorial Insignia of the late Prince Consort; of the Prince and Princess of Wales; of the other Princes and Princesses._

"On his Banner were three Leopards, courant, of fine gold, set on red: fierce were they, haughty and cruel, to signify that, like them, the KING is dreadful to his enemies; for his bite is slight to none who inflame his anger: and yet, towards such as seek his friendship or submit to his power his kindness is soon rekindled." --ROLL OF CARLAVEROCK.

"With Scotland's Arms, Device and Crest Embroidered round and round." --MARMION.

How the "three Leopards courant" of the shrewd chronicler of Carlaverock are identical with the "three Lions passant guardant" of the Royal Shield of England I have already shown (see page 84). To the Norman Sovereigns of England, WILLIAM I., WILLIAM II., HENRY I., and STEPHEN (A.D. 1066-1154), the same Shield of Arms has been assigned--_Gu., two lions pass. guard., in pale, or_, No. 22. It must be distinctly understood, however, that there exists no certain authority for these Arms.

In like manner, STEPHEN is also _said_ to have borne on a red Shield three golden _Sagittaries_, or Centaurs, with bows and arrows. And, again, HENRY II. is _considered_ to have added a third lion to the two on the Shield of his father, a _single golden lion passant guardant on red_ being (also considered to be) the armorial ensign of the province of Aquitaine, acquired by HENRY in right of his Consort, ALIANORE.

As early as the reign of HENRY III., a Shield of Arms, No. 23, was assigned to the Anglo-Saxon Kings: another Shield, No. 2, was assigned to EDWARD THE CONFESSOR: and a third Shield, No. 3, to another sainted Anglo-Saxon Prince, EDMUND.

[Illustration: No. 22.--Royal Arms, supposed to have been borne before A.D. 1189.]

[Illustration: No. 187.--Royal Arms, from A.D. 1189 to 1340.]

From the appearance of the Second Great Seal of RICHARD I., about A.D. 1195, all uncertainty concerning the Royal Arms of England is at an end, and they are borne as follows by the successive English Sovereigns:--

RICHARD I.: JOHN: HENRY III.: EDWARD I.: EDWARD II.: and EDWARD III., till the thirteenth year of his reign, A.D. 1340:--_Gu., three lions passant guardant in pale or_,--No. 187.

EDWARD III., from the thirteenth year of his reign, when he claimed to be King of France as well as of England, and so styled himself: RICHARD II.: and HENRY IV., till about the fifth year of his reign:--_France Ancient and England quarterly_,--No. 252.

RICHARD II. sometimes bore the Arms of the CONFESSOR, No. 2, with his own, on a separate shield, as at Westminster Hall; and sometimes he impaled the Confessor's Arms with his own quartered Shield, the arms of the Confessor having the precedence.

[Illustration: No. 252.--Royal Arms from A.D. 1340 to about 1405.]

[Illustration: No. 253.--Royal Arms from about A.D. 1405 to 1603.]

HENRY IV. from about 1405: HENRY V.: HENRY VI.: EDWARD IV.: EDWARD V.: RICHARD III.: HENRY VII.: HENRY VIII.: EDWARD VI.: MARY: and ELIZABETH, to A.D. 1603:--_France Modern and England Quarterly_, No. 253.

The Royal Shield of SCOTLAND, No. 138, first appears upon the Seal of ALEXANDER II. about A.D. 1235; and, as Mr. Seton well observes, the origin of its bearings "is veiled by the mists of Antiquity." The same Shield, without any modification or change, was borne by all the Sovereigns of Scotland.

[Illustration: No. 138.--Royal Arms of Scotland.]

JAMES I.: CHARLES I.: CHARLES II.: JAMES II.: WILLIAM III. and MARY: and ANNE, till May 1, 1707: _Quarterly_: 1 _and_ 4, _Grand Quarters, France Modern and England_ (No. 253): 2, _Grand Quarter, Scotland_ (No. 138): 3, _Grand Quarter--Az., a harp or, stringed arg., for Ireland_: No. 423.

[Illustration: No. 423.--Royal Arms of the Stuart Sovereigns.]

[Illustration: No. 425.--Diagram of Shield of William III. and Mary.]

[Illustration: No. 424.--Arms of Nassau.]

[Illustration: No. 426.--Diagram of Shield of William III. alone.]

WILLIAM III., as an elected Sovereign, charged his paternal shield of NASSAU, No. 424--_Az., billettée, a lion rampt. or_,--in pretence upon the Royal Shield: also, during the life of his Consort, till Dec. 28, 1694, he bore the _Stuart_ shield with _Nassau_ in pretence on the dexter half of his Shield, and thus impaled in the sinister half of his Shield the same Stuart arms, as in the Diagram, No. 425, to denote their joint Sovereignty: the Shield represented in this Diagram, No. 425, bears the whole of No. 423 on its dexter half, with No. 424 in pretence; and on its sinister half it also bears the whole of No. 423. When he reigned alone, WILLIAM III. bore his own dexter half of the impaled Shield alone, as in the Diagram, No. 426: the Shield represented in this Diagram being the dexter half of No. 425.

Queen ANNE, from May 1, 1707, till 1714, bore the Royal Arms marshalled as in the Diagram, No. 427:--1 and 2, _England_ impaling _Scotland_; 3, _France Modern_ (No. 253); 4, _Ireland_ (the Harp, as in the third quarter of No. 423).

[Illustration: No. 427.--Diagram of the Second Royal Shield of Queen Anne.]

[Illustration: No. 428.--Arms of Hanover.]

[Illustration: No. 429.--Diagram of the Royal Shield from A.D. 1714 to 1801.]

The Arms of HANOVER, on the accession of GEORGE I., August 1, 1714, were added to the Shield of the United Kingdom. This was accomplished by removing the charges (_England and Scotland impaled_) from the fourth quarter of the Shield, No. 427, and charging that quarter with the arms of _Hanover_ as they appear on the Shield, No. 428:--_Per pale and per chevron_, 1, _Gu., two lions passant guardant or_, for _Brunswick_: 2, _Or, Semée of hearts, a lion rampt. az._, for _Lunenburgh_: 3, _Gu., a horse courant arg._, for _Westphalia_: 4, _Over all, on an inescutcheon gules, the golden crown of Charlemagne_. This marshalling is shown in the Diagram, No. 429, which represents a Shield bearing,--1 and 2, _England_ impaling _Scotland_; 3, _France Modern_; 4, _Ireland_; 5, _Hanover_ (as in No. 428, without the Crown).

On January 1, 1801, the Fleurs de Lys of France were removed from the Royal Shield of Great Britain, which then was marshalled as in the diagram, No. 430, _quarterly_, 1 _and_ 4, _England_; 2, _Scotland_; 3, _Ireland_; 5, _Hanover_--the shield of Hanover being ensigned with the _Electoral Bonnet_, No. 240, till 1816, but, after Hanover became a kingdom, with a _Royal Crown_ in place of the Electoral Bonnet from 1816 till 1837, as it appears in No. 428.

[Illustration: No. 430.--Diagram of the Royal Shield from A.D. 1801 to 1837.]

GEORGE I.: GEORGE II.: GEORGE III., till Jan. 1, 1801:--The arms indicated in the diagram, No. 429.

GEORGE III., till 1816:--The arms indicated in the diagram, No. 430, the inescutcheon ensigned with an electoral bonnet.

GEORGE III., after 1816: GEORGE IV.: WILLIAM IV.:--The same arms as No. 430, but the inescutcheon ensigned with a Royal Crown.

QUEEN VICTORIA, KING EDWARD VII., and KING GEORGE V.:--The same as No. 430, but without the inescutcheon, the four quarters being marshalled as on the Royal Standard, No. 416.

ROYAL CRESTS.

For ENGLAND:--_A golden lion statant guardant, imperially crowned_; assumed by EDWARD III., and by him borne on his Helm standing upon a Cap of Estate; retained from his time, and now borne standing on an Imperial Crown. No. 431.

[Illustration: No. 431.--Royal Crest of England.]

For SCOTLAND:--First Crest. _A lion statant guardant gu._, assumed by ROBERT II., about A.D. 1385; retained, and with some modifications used by his successors, till about A.D. 1550. Second Crest. _On an Imperial Crown, a lion sejant affronté erect gu.; imperially crowned, holding in the dexter paw a sword, and in the sinister paw a sceptre, both erect and ppr._; with the motto--IN: DEFENSE; assumed by JAMES V.; borne by MARY, and shown in her signet-ring, No. 432, about 1564; retained, and now in use.

ROYAL SUPPORTERS.

For ENGLAND. Of uncertain authority before HENRY VI., who bore _two white antelopes_: also, _a lion and a panther_, or _antelope_.

EDWARD IV.:--_A lion or_, or _argent, and a bull sable_: or, _two lions argent_: or, _a lion and a hart argent_.

RICHARD III.:--_A lion or and a boar arg._: or, _two boars arg._

HENRY VII.:--_A dragon gu., and a greyhound arg._: or, _two greyhounds arg._: or, _a lion or and a dragon gu._

HENRY VIII.:--_A lion or and a dragon gu._: or, _a dragon gu., and either a bull sable, a greyhound argent, or a cock arg._

EDWARD VI.:--_A lion or, and a dragon gu._

MARY and ELIZABETH:--_A lion or, and a greyhound arg._, or _a dragon gu._

For SCOTLAND.--First Supporters:--_Two lions rampt. guard._; first seen on a Seal of JAMES I., A.D. 1429. Second Supporters: _Two silver unicorns, crowned with imperial and gorged with open crowns and chained or_; assumed by JAMES IV., and retained in use. On the signet of Queen MARY STUART, No. 432: for this beautiful cut once more I am indebted to Mr. Laing.

For the UNITED KINGDOM. Dexter Supporter: _A lion rampt. guard., royally crowned, or_. Sinister Supporter: _A unicorn rampt. arg., armed, crined and gorged with a coronet composed of crosses pattée and fleurs de lis, and chained or_. Assumed by JAMES I. of Great Britain: retained, and still in use.

[Illustration: No. 432.--The Signet of Queen Mary Stuart, considerably enlarged.]

ROYAL MOTTOES.

The ancient English war-cry--DIEU . ET . MON . DROIT!--"_God and my Right!_" assumed as a regular Motto by HENRY VI., has been retained in use since his time.

Queens ELIZABETH and ANNE also used--SEMPER . EADEM--"_Always the Same_." JAMES I. used--BEATI . PACIFICI--"_Blessed are the Peace-makers_."

Mottoes of Scotland: NEMO . ME . IMPUNE . LACESSIT--"_No man with impunity attacks me_:" and, above the Crest--IN . DEFENSE. The former is really the Motto of the Order of the Thistle.

THE CROWN

Till the time of HENRY IV., the Crown, the symbol of the Sovereignty of England, was a golden circlet richly jewelled, and heightened with conventional _strawberry-leaves_: fine examples are represented in the effigies of HENRY III., JOHN, and EDWARD II.

HENRY IV., as shown by his splendid effigy at Canterbury, introduced _fleurs de lys_, alternating with the leaves.

From the time of HENRY V., the circlet has been heightened by _crosses pattées_ and _fleurs de lys_ alternating, four of each, and without any leaves. HENRY V. also first _arched the circlet with jewelled bands_, which at their intersection he surmounted with a _mound and cross_.

[Illustration: No. 234.--Crown of H.M., The King.]

The arched Crown of HENRY V. has four half-arches,--that is, it is arched over twice: HENRY VI. and CHARLES I. arched their crown three times: all the other Sovereigns have had two complete arches only, and the Crown still retains these two arches intersecting at right angles, as in No. 234. At different periods, while the design of the Crown has remained unchanged, the contour of the arches, and the artistic treatment of the ornamentation have undergone various modifications.

The ROYAL BANNERS, or STANDARDS, are charged with the bearings of the Royal Shield of Arms for the time being.

The Armorial Insignia of H.R.H. the late PRINCE CONSORT. The SHIELD was--_Quarterly_, 1 _and_ 4,--_The Royal Arms of the late Queen_, as in No. 416, but differenced with _a silver label of three points charged on the central point with a cross of St. George_: 2 _and_ 3,--_Saxony_, No. 225. This Shield was encircled with the Garter of the Order, and ensigned with the Prince's own Coronet, shown in No. 441.

The CREST was the _Royal Crest of England_, No. 431, the lion having the same _label_ that differences the Shield adjusted about his neck as a collar, and being crowned with the coronet, _vide_ No. 441, in place of the Imperial Crown.

The SUPPORTERS were those of the Royal Arms, _the golden lion and silver unicorn_, both of them differenced with the same _label_, and the lion crowned with the same coronet.

The Motto.--TREU . UND . FEST--"True and Faithful." To the dexter of this Achievement, the complete Royal Achievement of QUEEN VICTORIA.

The Arms of KING EDWARD VII. were and those of KING GEORGE V. are practically the same as those of QUEEN VICTORIA. As PRINCES OF WALES, these Arms were differenced by a plain _label_ of three points argent, and an inescutcheon of SAXONY was superimposed. In each case upon accession to the throne, the inescutcheon of Saxony was removed, and consequently there has been no change whatsoever in the Royal Arms, those of KING EDWARD and KING GEORGE being the same as those of QUEEN VICTORIA, save, of course, the necessary change in the Royal Cyphers--the full blazon of the Royal Arms for the present reign being:--

ARMS.-- _Quarterly_, 1 _and_ 4, _gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or_ (ENGLAND); 2, _or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory and counterflory gules_ (SCOTLAND); 3, _azure, a harp or, stringed argent_ (IRELAND).

HELMET--_of gold, affronté and with grylles_.

MANTLING, _cloth of gold lined with ermine_.

CRESTS _upon the Imperial Crown, a lion statant guardant, crowned or_ (ENGLAND).

_Upon the Crown of Scotland, a lion sejant erect affronté gules; crowned or, holding in the dexter paw a sword, and in the sinister a sceptre, both proper_ (SCOTLAND).

On a Wreath, _or and azure, a tower triple-towered of the first, from the portal a hart springing argent, attired and unguled gold_ (IRELAND).

SUPPORTERS (dexter), _a lion guardant or, crowned as the crest_; (sinister), _a unicorn argent, armed, crined and unguled or, gorged with a coronet composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis, a chain affixed thereto, passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back of the last_.

BADGES.--

1. _The Red and White Rose, united and crowned_ (ENGLAND).

2. _The Thistle, crowned_ (SCOTLAND).

3. _A Harp or, stringed argent, crowned_ (IRELAND).

4. _A Trefoil slipped vert, crowned_ (IRELAND).

5. _The Rose, Thistle and Shamrock united on one stem and crowned_ (UNITED KINGDOM).

6. _A Shield, crowned and bearing the device of the Union Jack_ (UNITED KINGDOM).

7. _Upon a mount vert, a dragon passant with wings elevated gules_ (WALES). _N.B._--This badge is not crowned.

MOTTO.--DIEU . ET . MON . DROIT in the compartment below the Shield, with the Union, Rose, Shamrock, and Thistle engrafted on the same stem.

The Shield is encircled by the Garter of that Order.

The Arms of H.M. QUEEN ALEXANDRA, early in the reign of KING EDWARD, were declared by Royal Warrant. Within the Garter are impaled (dexter) the Arms of KING EDWARD VII. and (sinister) the undifferenced Arms of DENMARK as under:--

The ROYAL ARMS OF DENMARK. The Shield divided into four quarters by the national _white cross_, having a _border of red_ to represent the red field of the Danish Ensign. First Quarter:--DENMARK--_Or, semée of hearts gu., three lions pass. guard. in pale az._ Second Quarter:--SLESWICK--_Or, two lions pass. in pale az._ Third Quarter:--_Per fesse, in chief_, SWEDEN--_Az., three crowns or; in base_, ICELAND--_Gu., a stock-fish arg., crowned or; impaling_, for FAROE ISLANDS--_Az., a buck pass. arg._; and, for GREENLAND--a _polar bear rampt. arg._ Fourth Quarter:--_Per fesse, in chief_, for JUTLAND--_Or, ten hearts, four, three, two, one, gu., and in chief a lion pass. az.; in base_, for VANDALIA--_Gu., a wyvern, its tail nowed and wings expanded, or_.

On an Inescutcheon, quarterly: First, for HOLSTEIN--_Gu., an inescutcheon per fesse arg. and of the first, in every point thereof a nail in triangle, between as many holly-leaves, all ppr._ Second, for STORMERK--_Gu., a swan arg., gorged with a coronet or_. Third, for DITZMERS--_Az., an armed knight ppr., brandishing his sword, his charger arg._ Fourth, for LAUENBURGH--_Gu., a horse's head couped arg._

Over all, in pretence upon a second Inescutcheon, OLDENBURGH--_Or, two bars gu._; impaling--_Az., a cross patée fitchée or_, for DALMENHURST.

The above-mentioned warrant for Her Majesty declares the arms to be surmounted by the Royal Crown, and supported (dexter) by a lion guardant, and imperially crowned or, and (sinister) by a savage wreathed about the temples and loins with oak and supporting in his exterior hand a club all proper.

The Arms of H.M. QUEEN MARY, as declared by Royal Warrant, are:--Within the Garter ensigned with the Royal Crown the Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland impaling quarterly (for Cambridge) the Royal Arms as borne by GEORGE III. differenced by a label of three points arg., the centre point charged with the St. George's Cross, and each of the other points with two hearts in pale gu., 2nd and 3rd (for Teck) or, three stags' attires fesseways in pale, the point of each attire to the sinister sa., impaling or, three lions passant in pale sa., langued gu., the dexter fore paws of the last, over all an inescutcheon paly bendy sinister sa. and or. _Supporters_ (dexter) a lion guardant or, crowned with the Royal Crown ppr.; (sinister) a stag ppr.

H.R.H. the PRINCE OF WALES bears a Shield--_Quarterly_, 1 _and_ 4, ENGLAND; 2, SCOTLAND; 3, IRELAND, differenced by a plain _label of three points argent_. In pretence over these Arms he bears an Inescutcheon of the Arms of WALES, viz. quarterly or and gu., four lions passant guardant counter-changed, the Inescutcheon surmounted by the Coronet of the Heir-Apparent. His Crest is the Crest of England, and his Supporters are also the same, but the Crest and each of the Supporters are differenced by a similar _label_, and for the Imperial Crown in the Crest and dexter supporter the coronet of the Prince of WALES is substituted. The Badges of the Prince of WALES are two:--viz. 1, _A plume of three ostrich feathers arg., quilled or, enfiled by a coronet composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lys_, with the MOTTO, "ICH DIEN": 2, _on a mount vert, a dragon passant with wings elevated gu., differenced with a label of three points arg._ Below the SHIELD the MOTTO "ICH DIEN" is repeated, and the Shield is surrounded by the Garter.

The other PRINCES and PRINCESSES, younger children of the late QUEEN VICTORIA, all bore the Royal Arms of the Sovereign, the Princes on _Shields_, the Princesses on _Lozenges_. All their Royal Highnesses bore the Royal _Supporters_; all have a Shield of _Saxony_, in pretence on their own Shield or Lozenge; all ensign their Shield or Lozenge with their own Coronet, No. 290; and the Princes bear the Royal _Crest_. In every case, the dexter Supporter is crowned and the sinister Supporter is gorged, and the Crest stands upon and is ensigned with the same Coronet which appears above the Shield as their particular coronet of rank: all the Shields, Lozenges, Crests, and Supporters, are differenced with a _silver label of three points, the labels being differenced_ as follows:--

H.R.H. the late Duke of EDINBURGH, &c.:--_On the central point a red cross; on each of the other two points a red anchor_ (when the Duke succeeded to the throne of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a radical change in his Arms was made). H.R.H. the Duke of CONNAUGHT:--_Red cross, and two blue fleurs de lys_. H.R.H. the late Duke of ALBANY:--_Red cross, and two red hearts_. H.I.M. the late GERMAN EMPRESS, PRINCESS ROYAL OF ENGLAND, on the central point of her _label_ had a _red rose_, and on each of the other two points a _red cross_. H.R.H. the late Princess ALICE OF HESSE had on her _label_ a _red rose_, between two _ermine spots_. H.R.H. the Princess HELENA, Princess CHRISTIAN, has on her _label_ a _red cross_ between two _red roses_. H.R.H. the Princess LOUISE (Duchess of ARGYLL):--_Red rose, and two red cantons_. H.R.H. the Princess BEATRICE:--_Red heart, and two red roses_.

The Warrants for the three daughters of King EDWARD were issued in the lifetime of Queen VICTORIA when they were grandchildren of the Sovereign, and no change has since been made. Consequently the _labels_ are of _five points_ instead of _three_. The Charges upon the label of H.R.H. the Duchess of FIFE (Princess ROYAL OF ENGLAND) are: _Three red crosses, and two thistles slipped alternately_. H.R.H. Princess VICTORIA has a _label_ of _five points argent_, charged with _three roses_ and _two crosses gules_; and H.M. the Queen of NORWAY a similar _label_, charged with _three hearts_ and _two crosses gules_.

The _label_ of H.R.H. the first Duke of CAMBRIDGE was silver, of three points, and the points differenced with _a red cross_ in the centre, and on each of the two side points _two red hearts in pale_. The second and late Duke bore the same _label_ as his father, and below it a second _label_ of three points _gules_. The _label_ of H.R.H. the first Duke of CUMBERLAND (son of KING GEORGE III.) was of silver, and of _three points_ charged with a _fleur de lys_ between _two crosses gules_. The second Duke bore an additional _label_ of _three points gules_, the _centre point_ charged with the _white horse of Hanover_. These Dukes bore the Royal Arms as used in the reign of GEORGE III. and not as altered for Queen VICTORIA, differencing the accessories as well as the Shield with their _labels_.

In 1904 a warrant was issued for H.R.H. Prince ARTHUR OF CONNAUGHT. The label was of five points charged with three red crosses and two blue fleurs de lys alternately. The coronet assigned to him was of crosses patée and strawberry leaves alternately.

An interesting warrant was issued for the Princess VICTORIA EUGENIE OF BATTENBERG, now Queen of SPAIN, in view of her then approaching marriage. This assigned to her the arms of her father within a bordure of England, and each of the supporters had a banner of the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom placed in his paws.

Even more interesting was the warrant issued in 1913 to H.H. Princess ALEXANDRA, Duchess of FIFE. This assigned to her upon a lozenge the Royal Arms, differenced by the same label as that of her mother the Princess Royal, and upon an inescutcheon the quarterly coat of Duff, the inescutcheon being surmounted by the coronet of a Duchess of the United Kingdom, and the lozenge itself being surmounted by the coronet of a Princess of the rank of Highness. The dexter supporter is the Royal Lion of England crowned with the last-mentioned coronet and charged with the label as in the arms. The sinister supporter is a savage taken from the supporters of the late Duke of Fife.

##