Information about Coat of Arms: Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom

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). The official blazon of the Royal Arms is:

Quarterly, first and fourth Gules three Lions passant gardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure (for England), second quarter Or a Lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland), third quarter Azure a Harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland), the whole surrounded by the Garter; for a Crest, upon the Royal helm the Imperial Crown Proper, thereon a Lion statant gardant Or imperially crowned Proper; Mantling Or and Ermine; for Supporters, dexter a Lion rampant gardant Or crowned as the Crest, sinister a Unicorn Argent armed, crined and unguled Proper, gorged with a Coronet Or composed of Crosses patées and Fleurs-de-lis a Chain affixed thereto passing between the forelegs and reflexed over the back also Or. Motto "Dieu et mon Droit" in the compartment below the shield, with the Union Rose, Shamrock and Thistle engrafted on the same stem.

As the United Kingdom is governed in the monarch's name, the British Government also uses the Royal Arms as a national symbol of the United Kingdom and, in that capacity, the coat of arms can be seen on documents and forms, passports, in the entrance to embassies and consulates, etc. However, when used by the government and not by the monarch personally, the coat of arms is often represented without the helm.

The Royal Arms have regularly appeared on the coinage produced by the Royal Mint including, for example, from 1663, the Guinea and, from 1983, the British one pound coin. In 2008, a new series of designs for all seven coins of £1 and below was unveiled by the Royal Mint, every one of which is drawn from the Royal Arms. The full Royal Arms appear on the one pound coin, and sections appear on each of the other six, such that they can be put together like a puzzle to make another complete representation of the Royal Arms. The series was discontinued in 2016 though, with the introduction of the new Nations of the Crown bi-metallic coin.

Depictions of the Royal Arms on coins can show it in its full form, or the Shield only with no supporters (with or without the crown on top). The symbol is depicted on coins of the United Kingdom, as well as occasionally on commemorative coinage of British dependencies.

2008 UK Coin £1 BU Royal Coat of Arms

United Kingdom / One Pound 2008 Royal Arms

Full representation of the Royal Coat of Arms on £1 coins.

Commemorative representation with a Tudor rose in the background

United Kingdom / Sovereign 1989 500th Anniversary

This one-off design was issued in 1989 only. To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first hammered gold sovereign coin issued by King Henry VII in 1489, the designs chosen for both sides of the 1989 gold coins reflect the designs originally used five centuries earlier.

Only the crowned shield is shown, with no supporters and no helmet.

2019 interpretation on bullion coinage

United Kingdom / Gold Ounce 2019 Royal Arms

The iconic design by Eric Sewell was reinterpreted by Timothy Noad for the Royal Arms bullion coin range in 2019, in a style reminiscent of the Queen's Beasts series.