As a British colony, Natal's first official symbol was a Public Seal, authorised by
Queen Victoria in 1846, and also used as a flag badge from 1870. The seal was of a standard pattern which first came into use on the
Great Seal of Newfoundland in 1839 and was described as follows: "Within a Chippendale-type frame, a on plain, two Wildebeest in full course at random (to sinister), with the words COLONY OF NATAL beneath the frame. The frame itself is ensigned with the Royal Arms and around the circumference appears the legend VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIAR. REG. F.D." It depicted the British royal coat of arms in the upper half; in the lower half was an ornamental frame enclosing a scene of two
wildebeest (gnu) galloping across a plain. The wildebeest became the popular symbol of Natal, and when the government decided in 1905 to obtain an official coat of arms, the wildebeest was an obvious choice for the design. The arms, designed by G. Ambrose Lee, the
York Herald at the
College of Arms, were granted by
King Edward VII by
Royal Warrant on 16 May 1907. After Natal became a province of the
Union of South Africa in 1910, the provincial administration took over the arms. They were used as the standalone provincial arms until Natal was reconstituted as
KwaZulu-Natal in 1994. However, they continued to be used officially jointly with the coat of arms of
KwaZulu until 2004 due to the new province being unable to agree on a new coat of arms. ==Blazon==