Coat of arms of England

"Royal Banner of England" redirects here. For the English heraldic flags used in battles and pageancy, see Royal standards of England.

Coat of arms of England
Versions
Banner of arms, which served as royal banner
ArmigerMonarchs of England
AdoptedLate 12th century
ShieldGules, three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure
SupportersVarious
MottoDieu et mon droit
Order(s)Order of the Garter
Use

The coat of arms of England is the coat of arms historically used as arms of dominion by the monarchs of the Kingdom of England, and now used to symbolise England generally.[1] The arms were adopted c.1200 by the Plantagenet kings and continued to be used by successive English and British monarchs; they are currently quartered with the arms of Scotland and Ireland in the coat of arms of the United Kingdom.[2][3][4] Historically they were also quartered with the arms of France, representing the English claim to the French throne, and Hanover.

The arms continue to be used in heraldry to represent England, for example in the arms of Canada, although they rarely appear in isolation in royal or government contexts.[5] They have also been adapted by English sporting bodies, forming the basis of the coat of arms of the Football Association, the logo of the England and Wales Cricket Board, England Hockey and England Boxing.[6][7]

  1. ^ Boutell 1859, p. 373: "The three golden lions upon a ground of red have certainly continued to be the royal and national arms of England."
  2. ^ Jamieson 1998, pp. 14–15.
  3. ^ "Union Jack". The Royal Household. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ^ Brooke-Little 1978, pp. 205–222
  5. ^ "The Flag of Her Majesty the Queen for personal use in Canada". Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference briggs 1971 166–167 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Ingle, Sean (18 July 2002). "Why do England have three lions on their shirts?". The Guardian. Loncon. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2010.