Information about effigy: Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, Hanoverian

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom, or the Royal Arms for short, is the official coat of arms of the British monarch and are used by the monarch in his/her official capacity. Variants of the Royal Arms are used by other members of the British royal family, by the British Government in connection with the administration and government of the country, and some courts and legislatures in a number of Commonwealth realms. In Scotland, there exists a separate version of the Royal Arms, a variant of which is used by the Scotland Office and the Judiciary.

In the standard variant used outside of Scotland, the shield is quartered, depicting in the first and fourth quarters the three passant guardant lions of England; in the second, the rampant lion and double tressure flory-counterflory of Scotland; and in the third, a harp for Ireland. The crest is a statant guardant lion wearing the St Edward's Crown, himself on another representation of that crown. The dexter supporter is a likewise crowned English lion; the sinister, a Scottish unicorn. According to legend a free unicorn was considered a very dangerous beast; therefore the heraldic unicorn is chained, as were both supporting unicorns in the royal coat of arms of Scotland.

In the greenery below, a thistle, Tudor rose and shamrock are depicted, representing Scotland, England and Ireland respectively. This armorial achievement comprises the motto, in French, of English monarchs, Dieu et mon Droit (God and my Right), which has descended to the present royal family as well as the Garter circlet which surrounds the shield, inscribed with the Order's motto, in French, Honi soit qui mal y pense (Shame on him who thinks evil).

Being the Coat of Arms of the monarch - and not of the country - resulted in the strange wrinkle that the symbol, displayed on much British coinage, included symbols of another country. Specifically, during the reign of the Hanoverian dynasty, it featured an escutcheon (inclusion) at its centre of the arms of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Electorate of Hanover), of which the kings from George I to William IV were monarchs, with their respective German names - e.g. Elector Georg III. Wilhelm Friedrich. In 1816, Hanover was elevated to a kingdom, so the Elector's bonnet which was capping the symbol was replaced with the Crown of Charlemagne - reflecting the King's role as Arch-Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire.

This situation lasted until 1837, when Queen Victoria inherited the throne of the United Kingdom but not that of Hanover - which could only be passed to a male successor, so that the personal union between the two countries was broken.