Kensington Palace revealed the Duchess of Sussex's coat of arms this morning (May 25). According to CTV News, it is a tradition for a new member of the royal family to be given a distinct coat of arms, which is created to distinguish the person. According to The Telegraph, "the coat of arms belonging to a Royal bride impale the emblem of her own family with that of her husband to form a new image, [sic]" but since the Duchess is American, her family does not have one. It was reported by CNN that the Duchess of Sussex worked with the College of Arms to create a coat of arms that would be "personal," as well as "representative."

The Telegraph reported that Queen Elizabeth II has given her approval, as well as Thomas Woodcock, "Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England, who is based at the College of Arms in London." It was reported by The Telegraph that Mr.

Woodcock 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 [sic]."

The coat of arms

The Duchess of Sussex's coat of arms has personal touches with symbols that represent her life in California, as well as her new royal life at Kensington Palace. According to CTV News, the shield on her coat of arms has a blue background, which represents the Duchess's birthplace, California's Pacific Ocean coastline. The two lines on the right side of the shield are golden rays, which symbolizes California's sunshine. The three quills placed on either side and in the middle of the golden rays illustrate "communication and the power of words." Underneath the shield, growing in the grass is golden poppy flowers, the state flower of California.

According to The Telegraph, a royal bride generally has two supporters that hold the shield. One represents the bride's family, while the other one represents her husband. However, since the Duchess's family does not have a coat of arms, she chose a white songbird, with an open beak, flapping wings, and a crown-like necklace, to represent herself.

The songbird is using its right leg to hold the shield up.

A thing of beauty

Under the shield, there are wintersweet flowers as well, which are grown at The Duchess of Sussex's new home Kensington Palace. It was reported by CTV News, poppy flowers and wintersweet flowers were both used at the royal wedding. While the right side of the coat of arms represents the Duchess of Sussex, the left side is taken from her husband Prince Harry's.

According to CTV News, Kensington Palace said that it was a custom for a wife's coat of arms to incorporate elements of her husband's. On the left side of the shield, the supporter is a lion with a golden crown, neck piece, and red claws, which is also on Prince Harry's coat of arms. On the left side of the shield itself, there are golden lions on a red background, and a golden harp on a blue background, which are features in Prince Harry's shield.

The Telegraph reported, "A coronet has also been assigned, composed of two crosses patée, four fleurs-de-lys and two strawberry leaves." The gold, red, and white crown that resides over the shield is similar, but different, from the crown over the shield on Prince Harry's coat of arms.

With these symbols, the Duchess of Sussex is showing the pride and care she has for family, as well as her new family at Kensington Palace.
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