thumb|200px|Arms of the [[Worshipful Company of Drapers: Azure, three clouds radiated proper each adorned with a triple crown or]]
right|thumb|200px|[[Heraldic achievement of the Worshipful Company of Drapers]]
The Worshipful Company of Drapers, informally known as the Drapers' Company and formally known as The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Drapers of the City of London, was probably the first corporate body in England to be granted a coat of arms, on 10 March 1438/9 by Sir William Bruges, Garter King of Arms. The patent dated 1439 is the earliest surviving such grant of arms made to a corporate body in England. The arms were modified in 1561, when the crest was added and the lion supporters granted. These grants were superseded in 1613 with minor modifications. The modern blazon is: Azure, three clouds radiated proper each adorned with a triple crown or. The triple crown contains a cap (velvet/fabric lining visible through the gold structure) gules.
The arms is also used by Bancroft's School in London, supported by the Company.
Original grant
The Drapers Company received its original grant of arms in 1439, from Sir William Bruges, Garter King of Arms. The "Fraternity" was founded under the protection of Blessed Mary the Virgin, which is reflected in the iconography of the arms. The Garter King explained his design of the arms as follows:
The Company's patron is the Virgin Mary, and each of the grants of arms is clear that this is to whom the triple crowns refer. Mary was deemed to be an empress and the symbol for an emperor/empress is a triple crown. An image of The Virgin Mary wearing the same tiara is in the margin of the Letters Patent granting the Arms to the Company. The Drapers were originally a religious fraternity associated with the Church of St Mary Bethlehem Church, Bishopsgate.
However, as the Pope has long used (until 1963) the "Papal Tiara" or triple crown, as a symbol of his temporal and spiritual power, the symbol used in the Drapers' arms may have become politically tainted at the time of the Reformation when England declared independence from papal authority. This may explain the clarifications which were required in the 16th and 17th century grants.
The symbolism is most likely to represent The Assumption of the Virgin; in the margins of the Letters Patent of the Grant, Mary is being crowned by angels. It has been suggested that the arms demonstrate that from Mary, through the Holy Spirit, comes the divine Son of God: thus the sunbeams represent the brilliance and light of the Virgin Mary, and the cloud which is a frequent symbol for the Holy Spirit. Another suggestion is that the crowned clouds are mistaken renderings of pyx-canopies, that is veils (as would be sold by drapers) hanging from pyxes.
The triple repetition of this main charge follows standard heraldic usage for charges of all kinds, but here also serves to emphasise the Trinity.
Motto
The motto is: Unto God only be Honour and Glory, from 1 Timothy 1:17.