The royal family has released the official Coat of Arms for Meghan Markle aka The Duchess of Sussex. The design was created by the College of Arms in London in collaboration with the Queen. Upon its completion, Meghan’s new Coat of Arms was approved by the Queen and a Mr. Thomas Woodcock who is the royal family’s Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England.
The design was created specifically for The Duchess of Sussex to resemble and represent her personally as a part of the royal family. The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, 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 and 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. Mr. Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms said: “The Duchess of Sussex took a great interest in the design. Good heraldic design is nearly always simple and the Arms of The Duchess of Sussex stand well beside the historic beauty of the quartered British Royal Arms. Heraldry as a means of identification has flourished in Europe for almost nine hundred years and is associated with both individual people and great corporate bodies such as Cities, Universities and for instance the Livery Companies in the City of London. “
