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. 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.
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 partition of Ireland in 1921.
The present arms do not include a represention 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.
Description
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. Surrounding the shield is the Order of the Garter, the United Kingdom's most senior order of knighthood. The supporters are a crowned English lion on the dexter (heraldic right), and a chained Scottish unicorn on the sinister (heraldic left). 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. In front of this is the motto , a French phrase meaning 'God and my right'.
During the reign of Elizabeth II the crowns depicted in this version of the royal arms were close representations of St Edward's Crown. Charles III has decided to use the 'Tudor Crown', a design previously introduced at the start of the reign of Edward VII and used until 1952.
In Scotland
The royal arms in Scotland use the same basic elements, but with distinctive Scottish symbolism. In the shield the Scottish arms occupy the first and fourth quarters and the English arms the second, giving the former precedence. The shield is surrounded by the Order of the Thistle. The crest is a crowned red lion holding a sword and sceptre (representing the Honours of Scotland), facing forward sitting on a crown. Above it is the Scots motto 'In defens', a contraction of the phrase 'In my defens God me defend'. The supporters are a crowned and chained Scottish unicorn on the dexter, and a crowned English lion on the sinister. Between each supporter and the shield is a lance displaying the flag of their respective kingdom. The grassy mound beneath the shield contains only thistles; on it is a second motto, that of the Order of the Thistle: (No one will attack me with impunity). The crowns in the Scottish version of the arms are conventionally stylised to resemble the Crown of Scotland.
History
England and Scotland
The current royal arms originated in the arms of the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland, both adopted in the twelfth century. The English arms were quartered with those of France from 1340 (except 1360–69), representing the English claim to the French throne. The arms of Scotland remained unaltered except during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, when they were first impaled with those of her husband, Francis II of France, and then quartered to represent Mary's claim to the English throne. Similarly, during the reign of Mary I of England her arms were impaled with those of her husband, Philip II of Spain.