The coat of arms of the United Kingdom, also referred to as the royal arms, are the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently . They are used by the Government of the United Kingdom and by other Crown institutions, including courts in the United Kingdom and in some parts of the Commonwealth. 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 was unaltered following the division of Ireland into Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State in 1922.
The present arms do not include a representation of the United Kingdom's fourth constituent country, Wales. It 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. 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.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!
! Outside Scotland
! In Scotland
|-
| Quarters I & IV
| Gules three lions passant gardant in pale or armed and langued azure (for England)
| Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second (for Scotland)
|-
| Quarter II
| Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory-counter-flory of the second (for Scotland)
| Gules three lions passant gardant in pale or armed and langued azure (for England)
|-
| Quarter III
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Azure a harp or stringed argent (for Ireland)
|-
| Surrounded by
| The Garter circlet
| The collar of the Order of the Thistle
|-
| Crest
| Upon the Royal helm the imperial crown proper, thereon a lion statant gardant or imperially crowned proper
| Upon the Royal helm the crown of Scotland proper, thereon a lion sejant affronté gules armed and langued azure, imperially crowned proper holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both proper
|-
| Supporters
| Dexter a lion rampant gardant or imperially crowned proper, sinister a unicorn argent, armed, crined and unguled or, gorged with a coronet or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also or
| Dexter a unicorn argent imperially crowned proper, armed, crined and unguled or, gorged with a coronet or composed of crosses patée and fleurs de lis a chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also or holding the standard of Saint Andrew, sinister a lion rampant gardant or imperially crowned proper holding the standard of Saint George
|-
| Motto
| (French)
| (Scots)
|-
| Order Motto
| Garter: (Anglo-Norman)
| Thistle: (Latin)
|-
| Plants on the compartment
| Roses, thistles and shamrocks (on the same stem)
| Thistles only
|}
History
Arms of England, Scotland and Ireland
thumb|The arms of [[James VI and I 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. and first used in The Gazette on 8 August 1837. This was the final change to the blazon of the royal arms and all later adaptions were purely stylistic.
On his succession in 1901, Edward VII had considered adding the Arms of Saxony as an inescutcheon as he had done when Prince of Wales, and also a representation for Wales, but he was dissuaded by officials. There were also unsuccessful calls for some representation of the wider British Empire. The Irish harp remained despite the Partition of Ireland in 1921.
|}
Changing styles
The blazon of the royal arms has been changed only three times since the creation of the United Kingdom: in 1801, 1816 and 1837. But how these blazons are depicted has been subject to artistic interpretation and the preferences of the monarch under the royal prerogative.
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.