Coat of arms of the United Kingdom
The coat of arms of the United Kingdom are the arms of dominion of the British monarch. They are both the personal arms of the monarch, currently King Charles III, and the arms of the state.[1][2] In addition to the monarch, the arms are used by state institutions including the Government of the United Kingdom, the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the British judiciary. Differenced versions of the arms are used by members of the British royal family. The monarch's official flag, the Royal Standard, is the coat of arms in flag form.
"Royal Arms" redirects here. For other uses, see Royal coat of arms.
Royal coat of arms
of the United Kingdom
1837
Upon the helm, the imperial crown proper thereon a lion statant guardant Or langued Gules armed Argent, imperially crowned Proper; mantled Or doubled Ermine
Quarterly, I and IV Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale Or langued and armed Azure. II Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules. III Azure a harp Or stringed Argent.; quarters for England and Scotland are exchanged in Scotland.
On the dexter a lion rampant guardant Or langued and armed Gules, imperially crowned Proper. On the sinister a Unicorn rampant Argent armed crined and unguled Or, and gorged with a Coronet composed of crosses patee and fleurs-de-lis, a chain affixed thereto passing through the forelegs and reflexed over the back Or
Tudor rose, Shamrock, and Thistle
French: Dieu et mon droit, lit. 'God and my right'
Order of the Garter
Order of the Thistle (Scottish version)
On all acts of Parliament; the cover of all UK passports; various government departments; adapted for the reverse of coins of the pound sterling (2008)
There are two versions of the coat of arms. One is used in Scotland, and includes elements derived from the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland, and the other is used elsewhere and includes elements derived from the coat of arms of the Kingdom of England. The shields of both versions of the arms quarter the arms of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, which united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, and the Kingdom of Ireland, which united with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom in 1801. The Irish quarter now represents Northern Ireland, after the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922.
The present arms do not include a representation of the United Kingdom's fourth constituent country, Wales, primarily because the country was conquered by England by 1283 and later formed an integral part of the Kingdom of England. Wales is instead represented heraldically by two royal badges, which use the Welsh dragon and the coat of arms of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth respectively.