The Duchess of Sussex got her own Coat of Arms (and the Markle family did not)
May 25, 2018
While I make fun of so much of the arcane bullsh-t that comes with royalty, I will admit that I do find some of this stuff to be rather charming and interesting. Like, I’m fascinated by coats of arms and the creation of a specific Coat of Arms for a newly married royal couple. It’s fascinating to me. What visual motifs would I want in my Coat of Arms? Something involving kittens and dogs, probably. Maybe something to reflect my love of watching tennis on TV? And some kind of visual representation of my liberal politics (perchance a donkey?). But for the newly minted Duchess of Sussex, her Coat of Arms went in a different direction:
Just looking at it without the backstory on what means what, I just have to say that I’m disturbed by how angry the lion looks and “songbird” looks angry AF too. Here’s what went into it:
A Coat of Arms has been created for The Duchess of Sussex. The design of the Arms was agreed and approved by Her Majesty The Queen and Mr. Thomas Woodcock (Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England), who is based at the College of Arms in London. Her Royal Highness worked closely with the College of Arms throughout the design process to create a Coat of Arms that was both personal and representative.
The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine of The Duchess’s home state. The three quills represent communication and the power of words. Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California’s state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace.
It is customary for Supporters of the shield to be assigned to Members of the Royal Family, and for wives of Members of the Royal Family to have one of their husband’s Supporters and one relating to themselves. The Supporter relating to The Duchess of Sussex is a songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak, which with the quill represents the power of communication. A Coronet has also been assigned to The Duchess of Sussex. It is the Coronet laid down by a Royal Warrant of 1917 for the sons and daughters of the Heir Apparent. It is composed of two crosses patée, four fleurs-de-lys and two strawberry leaves. The arms of a married woman are shown with those of her husband and the technical term is that they are impaled, meaning placed side by side in the same shield.
Some of that was gibberish to me, but it’s interesting nonetheless. This is the Coat of Arms for ONLY Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. I believe Meghan and Harry will have their own Sussex Coat of Arms as well, correct? And this means that the Markle family won’t have a family Coat of Arms, which is fine with me. Better to just give one to Meghan alone. The Coat-of-Arms creator, Thomas Woodcock, spoke on behalf of the design, saying that Meghan “took a great interest in the design” and that they created something which he hopes will stand the test of time.
Photos courtesy of WENN and Pacific Coast News.
