The coat of arms of the United Kingdom are the arms of dominion of the British monarch. They are both the personal arms of the monarch,currently King Charles III,and the arms of the state. In addition to the monarch,the arms are used by state institutions including the Government of the United Kingdom,the Parliament of the United Kingdom,and the British judiciary. Differenced versions of the arms are used by members of the British royal family. The monarch's official flag,the Royal Standard,is the coat of arms in flag form.
The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms,the head of Lyon Court,is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country,issuing new grants of arms,and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon,the oldest heraldic court in the world that is still in daily operation.
William Douglas Cullen,Baron Cullen of Whitekirk,is a former senior member of the Scottish judiciary. He formerly served as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session,and was an additional Lord of Appeal in the House of Lords prior to the transfer of its judicial functions to the Supreme Court.
King of arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions,only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings and sometimes certify genealogies and noble titles. In other traditions,the power has been delegated to other officers of similar rank.
Robin Orr Blair,CVO,WS,former Lord Lyon King of Arms of Scotland,is a retired solicitor,and was a partner with Dundas &Wilson CS and later with Turcan Connell. From 1988 until his appointment as Lord Lyon,he held the post of Purse Bearer to the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers.
The courts of Scotland are responsible for administration of justice in Scotland,under statutory,common law and equitable provisions within Scots law. The courts are presided over by the judiciary of Scotland,who are the various judicial office holders responsible for issuing judgments,ensuring fair trials,and deciding on sentencing. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland,subject to appeals to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom,and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court,which is only subject to the authority of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on devolution issues and human rights compatibility issues.
Clan Nicolson is a Lowland Scottish clan. The clan claims descent from an Edinburgh lawyer who lived in the 16th century and from a distinguished line of Aberdeen merchants who preceded him. During the mid-1980s David Nicolson,4th Baron Carnock was recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms as the chief of Clan Nicolson. Around the same time,a Nicolson who claimed descent from the Highland clan of "Nicolsons" historically centred on Skye,petitioned the Lord Lyon King of Arms to be recognised as chief of his own clan. The Lord Lyon King of Arms accepted this man's petition on the condition he took the surname MacNeacail. In consequence there are two Scottish clans with similar names—the lowland Clan Nicolson and the highland Clan MacNeacail.
Sir Malcolm Rognvald Innes of Edingight was Lord Lyon King of Arms of Scotland from 1981 until 2001.
Sir Thomas Innes of Learney (1893–1971) was a Scottish officer of arms who was Lord Lyon from 1945 to 1969.
Ross Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a Scottish herald of arms Extraordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The office is however held in Extraordinary after the retirement of the last holder in Ordinary.
George Alexander Way of Plean CStJ is a Scottish Sheriff and former Procurator Fiscal of the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland. In November 2015,it was announced that he was to be the first Scottish Sheriff to be appointed a member of the Royal Household in Scotland as Falkland Pursuivant Extraordinary at the Court of the Lord Lyon. In December 2017,he was promoted to Carrick Pursuivant in Ordinary. In 2020,he was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese of Brechin. In June 2021,he was appointed as Genealogist of the Priory of Scotland in the Most Venerable Order of St.John.
Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records is a legal and heraldic office in Scotland. The holder of this office is appointed by the Crown,and like the Lord Lyon King of Arms receives an annual salary. Lyon Clerk's duties include heraldic research,the preparation of papers,lectures and conducting and assisting with the preliminary business of application for a grant or matriculation of armorial bearings. This includes scrutiny of documents supporting the application. As Keeper of the Records the duties include maintaining the records of the Court of the Lord Lyon,overseeing the preparation of documents,allowing inspection of the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland and other records,and issuing certified extracts when required. Until 1867 there was a Lyon Clerk Depute,and in 1986 Elizabeth Ann Roads became the first woman appointed to the office of Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records.
Marchmont Herald of Arms is a current Scottish herald of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon
Sir James Balfour Paul was the Lord Lyon King of Arms,the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland,from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Sir Crispin Hamlyn Agnew of Lochnaw,11th Baronet,is a Scottish advocate,herald and former explorer. He is the chief of the ancient Agnew family,and the eleventh holder of the Agnew baronetcy,created in 1629.
Clan Skene is a Scottish clan.
John Inglis Drever "Don" Pottinger (1919–1986) was a Scottish officer of arms,artist,illustrator and author. He is remembered for the publication,with Sir Iain Moncreiffe,of Simple Heraldry,Cheerfully Illustrated (1953).
Clan Marjoribanks is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
William David Hamilton Sellar,MVO,FRHistS,FSA (Scot),FRHSC (Hon) served as Lord Lyon King of Arms from 2008 to 2014. He was married,with three adult sons and a step-son.
The Court of the Lord Lyon,or Lyon Court,is a standing court of law,based in New Register House in Edinburgh,which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms,known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland,as well as records of genealogies.
