| Coat of arms of Jersey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger | Charles III, Duke of Normandy |
| Adopted | 1907 |
| Shield | Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure |
The coat of arms of Jersey is the heraldic device consisting of a shield charged with three gold lions on a red field. Utilised unofficially before the 20th century, its status as the coat of arms of the Bailiwick of Jersey was formalized in 1907. The escutcheon is featured on the flag of the dependency.
The Channel Islands were part of the Duchy of Normandy until 1204, when the Kingdom of England lost sovereignty over the duchy but retained control of the islands. These were subsequently split into the bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey later that century. They have been governed by the English Crown ever since, save for five years during World War II. [1] [2]
The widespread usage of the royal arms of England on the islands led many residents to consider the arms a symbol of Jersey. [3] The claimed usage by the island of the arms was sanctioned by Edward VII in 1907. [4] During the German occupation in the Second World War, the dependency was allowed to print its own postage stamps for the first time given its inability to access supplies from mainland Britain. [5] However, it was barred from utilising the image of the monarch or any reference of Jersey's connection to the United Kingdom. One inhabitant, N. V. L. Rybot, suggested employing the island's coat of arms instead. This design was approved – with the Germans apparently unaware that it was also the royal arms of the monarch – and the stamps were first issued on 1 April 1941. [5]
A Royal Warrant was issued on 10 December 1980, appending the coat of arms to the flag of the dependency and topping it with a Plantagenet crown. This was approved by the States Assembly on 7 April of the following year: [3]
Jersey Flag
The Bailiff informed the House that H. M. Queen had now approved the new design of the Jersey Flag in accordance with the request of the House. The official description of the new flag was as follows –
"Argent a Saltire Gules in the honour point an Escutcheon also Gules thereon three Lions passant guardant Or (being the Royal Arms as used and borne by Our Island of Jersey) ensigned by an Ancient Crown (such as has been attributed unto Our Royal Predecessors being of the House of Plantagenet) of Gold"
The new flag was operative from now but the Bailiff added that it was not an Ensign and should not therefore be worn on the ensign staff of Jersey yachts which would continue to use the Red Ensign or Blue or White in the case of members of certain yacht clubs.
— Minutes of the States Assembly, 7 April 1981
The colours and objects on the coat of arms carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. The three gold lions (lions passant guardant) [6] are identical to the royal arms of England. Coupled with the dynastic crown on the flag, this represents the loyalty of the people of Jersey to the House of Plantagenet. [3]
The shield from the arms features on the flag of Jersey, [7] and on the flag of the dependency's lieutenant governor. [6] It was added to the former in 1980, [3] in order to distinguish the banner from Saint Patrick's Saltire. [8]
The coat of arms of Prince Edward Island, officially the King's Arms in Right of Prince Edward Island, are the coat of arms of Prince Edward Island, being the arms of King Charles III in right of the province. They were created when the shield and motto in the achievement were granted in 1905 by royal warrant from King Edward VII. The latest iteration was given by the Canadian Heraldic Authority in 2002.
The coat of arms of Saskatchewan, officially known as His Majesty's Arms in right of Saskatchewan, is the heraldic symbol representing the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French sautoir, Medieval Latin saltatoria ("stirrup").
The coat of arms of the province of Quebec was adopted by order-in-council of the Government of Quebec on 9 December 1939, replacing the arms assigned by royal warrant of Queen Victoria on 26 May 1868.
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, but not officially. 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. Historically they were also quartered with the arms of France, representing the English claim to the French throne, and Hanover.
The coat of arms of Belgium bears a lion or, known as Leo Belgicus, as its charge. This is in accordance with article 193 of the Belgian Constitution: The Belgian nation takes red, yellow and black as colours, and as state coat of arms the Belgian lion with the motto UNITY MAKES STRENGTH. A royal decree of 17 March 1837 determines the achievement to be used in the greater and the lesser version, respectively.
The flag of Jersey is composed of a red saltire on a white field. In the upper quadrant the badge of Jersey surmounted by a yellow "Plantagenet crown". The flag was adopted by the States of Jersey on 12 June 1979, proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on 10 December 1980 and first officially hoisted on 7 April 1981.
The Cayman Islands' coat of arms consists of a shield, a crested helm and the motto. Three green stars, representing each of the three inhabited Islands, are set in the lower two-thirds of the shield. The stars rest on blue and white wavy bands representing the sea. In the top third of the shield, against a red background, is a gold lion passant guardant, representing Britain. Above the shield is a green turtle on a coil of rope. Behind the turtle is a gold pineapple. The turtle represents the seafaring history; the rope, its traditional thatch-rope industry; and the pineapple, its ties with Jamaica.
The coat of arms of Newfoundland and Labrador was originally granted by Garter King of Arms, during the reign of King Charles I, on 1 January 1637/8.
In heraldry, an ordinary is one of the two main types of charges, beside the mobile charges. An ordinary is a simple geometrical figure, bounded by straight lines and running from side to side or top to bottom of the shield. There are also some geometric charges known as subordinaries, which have been given lesser status by some heraldic writers, though most have been in use as long as the traditional ordinaries. Diminutives of ordinaries and some subordinaries are charges of the same shape, though thinner. Most of the ordinaries are theoretically said to occupy one-third of the shield; but this is rarely observed in practice, except when the ordinary is the only charge.
The current coat of arms of Zimbabwe was adopted on 21 September 1981, one year and five months after the national flag was adopted. Previously the coat of arms of Zimbabwe was identical to the former coat of arms of Rhodesia.
A Royal Badge for Wales was approved in May 2008. It is based on the arms borne by the thirteenth-century Welsh prince Llywelyn the Great, with the addition of St Edward's Crown atop a continuous scroll which, together with a wreath consisting of the plant emblems of the four countries of the United Kingdom, surrounds the shield. The motto which appears on the scroll, PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD, is taken from the National Anthem of Wales and is also found on the Welsh designs for £1 coins minted from 1985 until 2000. The badge formerly appeared on the covers of Assembly Measures; since the 2011 referendum, it now appears on the cover of Acts passed by the Senedd and its escutcheon, ribbon and motto are depicted on the Welsh Seal.
The flag of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands was granted on 3 October 1985, when the Territory was created. Previously the Territory was a part of the former Falkland Islands Dependencies and used the same flag as the Falklands Islands.
The coat of arms of Denmark has a lesser and a greater version.
The coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands consists of a green escutcheon (shield) charged with a woman in a white dress and gold-coloured sandals, holding a lit golden oil lamp and surrounded by eleven other golden lamps. Adopted shortly after the islands became a Crown colony, it has been the coat of arms of the British Virgin Islands since 1960. The escutcheon dates from the early 19th century and is featured on the flag of the territory. The woman and the lamps represent Saint Ursula and her companions, the namesake of the islands.
The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christian symbolism. The Lion of Judah stands in the coat of arms of Jerusalem. Similar-looking lions can be found elsewhere, such as in the coat of arms of the Swedish royal House of Bjelbo, from there in turn derived into the coat of arms of Finland, formerly belonging to Sweden.
The coat of arms of Bavaria has greater and lesser versions.
Coats of arms and seals of the County and Duchy of Cornwall, the Diocese of Truro, and of Cornish boroughs and towns.
The coat of arms of the Angevin dynasty varied over time, but always included a lion.
The first instance of a figure of the lion as symbol of the Kingdom of León is found in minted coins of Alfonso VII, called the Emperor (1126–1157). Until then, the cross had a preponderant position on documents and coins of Leonese monarchs since that reign the cross was gradually displaced by the lion. The Spanish historian and heraldist Martín de Riquer explained that the lion was already used as heraldic emblem in 1148. At the end of the reign of Alfonso VII, the figure of this animal began to appear on royal documents as personal device of the monarch and became pervasive during reigns of Ferdinand II (1157-1188) and Alfonso IX (1188-1230).
The Lieutenant-Governor flies the Union Flag with a badge superimposed on the centre of the St. George's Cross. This badge consists of a red Jersey shield charged with three lions (sometimes referred to as leopards) passant guardant in gold (taken from the Seal), on a white circular background encircled by a garland.
