Coat of arms of the United Kingdom

Outside Scotland At the centre of the arms is a quartered shield, depicting the three passant guardant lions of England in the first and fourth quarters, the rampant lion and double tressure flory-counterflory of Scotland in the second quarter, and a harp for Ireland in the third quarter. Above the shield is a gold helmet, which has mantling of gold and ermine attached to it. On top of this is the crest, a crown with a crowned lion standing on it. Below the shield is a grassy mound, a type of compartment, on which are thistles, Tudor roses and shamrocks, representing Scotland, England and Ireland respectively. This table breaks down the blazons to enable comparison of the differences between the general arms and the arms used in Scotland. ==History==

Arms of England, Scotland and Ireland outside Scotland The present royal arms originated in the separate arms of the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland; Wales had been incorporated into the Kingdom of England in the 16th century. In 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones, and, to symbolise this union of the crowns, the arms of England (which at that time were quartered with those of France) and Ireland were quartered with those of Scotland. Within Scotland, the Scottish arms were placed in the first and fourth quarters and those of England in the second, with the English arms taking precedence elsewhere. Except during the Commonwealth and the Protectorate in the mid-seventeenth century, and the use by William III of an inescutcheon of Nassau, the arms remained unchanged until the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The actual form of the crown has varied over time. In England, the heraldic crown is ultimately based on St Edward's Crown, which has four crosses pattée and four fleurs-de-lis around the rim and two arches. However, depictions have varied depending on the artist. and in about 1880, after she was proclaimed Empress of India, the heraldic crown was altered to give it a more imperial form by making the arches semi-circular. After the accession of Edward VII, the War Office raised the issue of a standardised design of the crown for use by the British Army, as several crowns of different patterns were in use. The design was updated again after the accession of Charles III, to a design similar to that adopted in 1901. ==Usage==

Restrictions The royal arms are the arms of dominion of the British monarch. Members of the royal family are granted differenced arms. Although Crown copyright usually expires 50 years after publication, Section 171(b) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 made an exception for 'any right or privilege of the Crown' not written in an act of parliament, thus preserving the rights of the Crown under the unwritten royal prerogative. In addition, use of the royal arms and devices for commercial purposes is specifically restricted in the UK (and in countries which are party to the Paris Convention) under sections 4 and 99 of the Trade Marks Act 1994, and its use is governed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The royal arms may be displayed by holders of a royal warrant but may not be used as a trade mark and should only be displayed for the duration of the grant of a royal warrant. It is an offence under Section 12 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 to give a false indication that any goods or services are supplied to the monarch or any member of the royal family. Use of the royal arms by government departments and agencies is governed by the Cabinet Office. The Scottish Government continues to use the arms on some official documents, including acts of the Scottish Parliament. Judicial The royal arms appear in courtrooms in England and Wales, typically behind the judge's bench, and symbolise that justice comes from the monarch. One exception is the magistrates' court in the City of London, The Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 prohibited the display of the royal arms in courtrooms or on court building exteriors in Northern Ireland, with some exceptions. The arms are not displayed in the Middlesex Guildhall, which houses the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. This is because the remit of the former includes the four nations of the UK, and the latter is the final court of appeal for three independent republics and the independent sultanate of Brunei, which do not recognise the judicial authority of the British monarch as their head of state, as well as for various British territories and sovereign bases, the Crown dependencies, and other independent Commonwealth realms where the king is the head of state but separated from the judicial authority. Royal Standard A banner of the royal arms, known as the royal standard, is flown from buildings in which the monarch is resident or present. The Palace of Westminster, for example, usually flies the Union Flag, but flies the royal standard when the monarch is present for the State Opening of Parliament. When the monarch is not in residence at a palace in Scotland the royal banner of Scotland is flown; palaces in the rest of the UK fly the Union Flag. Heraldry The royal arms feature on the tabard worn by officers of arms of the College of Arms and Court of the Lord Lyon. These garments are worn at several traditional ceremonies, such as the annual procession and service of the Order of the Garter at Windsor Castle, the State Opening of Parliament, the coronation, and state funerals. Armed Forces 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. Ecclesiastical It is customary (but not mandatory) for churches of the Church of England and Church of Scotland to display the royal arms as the established church of England and the national church of Scotland respectively. If a church building of either denomination does not currently display the royal arms, permission from the Crown must be given before one can be used. Corporate Use of the royal arms and devices for commercial purposes is specifically restricted in the UK (and in countries which are party to the Paris Convention) under sections 4 and 99 of the Trade Marks Act 1994, and its use is governed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office. The royal arms may be displayed by select businesses which supply the royal household with goods or services and have been granted a royal warrant. But the arms may not be used as a trade mark and should only be displayed for the duration of the grant of a royal warrant. It is an offence under Section 12 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 to give a false indication that any goods or services are supplied to the monarch or any member of the royal family. Commonwealth usage Bahamas The office of the Governor-General of the Bahamas uses the lesser version of the British royal arms. Canada Several provincial and territorial courts in Canada make use of the royal arms: • The Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Provincial Court of British Columbia • The Court of Appeal for Ontario and some older courts in Ontario. • The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador and Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador • The Supreme Court of the Yukon Territory and the Court of Appeal of Yukon • The Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island and the Court of Appeal of Prince Edward Island The coat of arms of Canada is also closely modelled on the royal arms of the United Kingdom. Australia In Australia, the royal arms are used as a logo by the Parliament of Victoria and the Western Australian Legislative Council. It is also used by several state and federal courts, including: • The seal of the Supreme Court of South Australia • The Supreme Court of Victoria • The Supreme Court of Tasmania • The High Court of Australia, depicted alongside the Commonwealth Coat of Arms at the building's entrance • Court rooms in New South Wales where the royal arms may not be removed for practical or heritage reasons The current royal arms are also used by Australian newspaper The Age. New Zealand The New Zealand Gazette displayed the royal arms until 1946. The newspaper The Press used the royal arms as its masthead until 2023. Irish Free State Historically, when the Irish Free State established its own diplomatic seals in the 1930s, the royal arms were depicted on the throne behind George V in a unique form by having the Irish harp in two quarters and the English arms in one. == Royal family ==

Members of the British royal family are granted their own personal arms. They do not inherit them by right, as the arms are the arms of the kingdom. 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. 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. Since 1911, the arms of the Prince of Wales also displays an inescutcheon of the ancient arms of the Principality of Wales. 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. Currently the following members of the royal family have their own arms based on the royal arms: == See also ==