Royal Standards of England

King Richard Coeur-de-lion v. King Philip II of France

The Royal Standards of England were narrow, tapering swallow-tailed devices, a supporter, badges or crests, with a motto—but it did not bear a coat of arms. The Royal Standard changed its composition frequently from reign to reign, but retained the motto Dieu et mon droit, meaning God and my right; which was divided into two bands: Dieu et mon and Droyt.^[1]

Pennons, banners, standards

Knight's Pennon

Standard of Henry Stafford 1475

There were three main types of heraldic flag.^[2]

• A pennon was small, pointed or swallow-tailed at the fly, charged with the badge or other armorial device of the knight who bore it.
• A banner was square or oblong (depth greater than breadth), charged with the arms of the owner with no other device, borne by Knights Bannerets, ranking higher than other Knights, and also by Barons, Princes and the Sovereign.
• A standard was a narrow and tapering (sometimes swallow-tailed) flag, of considerable length (depending on the rank of the owner), generally used only for pageantry, and particularly to display the supporter, badges and livery colours. Mottoes were often introduced bendwise across these Standards.

Standards of the Kings

Bearer		In the hoist	In the fly
			Liveries	Supporter, charges and motto
	Edward III		Per fess, azure and gules.	A Lion imperially crowned. In chief a coronet of crosses pate and fleurs-de-lys, between two clouds irradiated proper; and in base a cloud between two coronets. DIEU ET MON. In chief a coronet, and in base an irradiated cloud. DROYT. Quarterly 1 & 4, an irradiated cloud, 2 & 3, a coronet.
	Richard II		Argent and vert.	A suns in splendour. DIEU ET MON. Two suns in splendour. DROYT. Four suns in splendour.
	Edward IV		Per fess, azure and gules.	A Lion of England imperially crowned, between three roses gules in chief, and as many argent in base, barbed, seeded, and irradiated or. DIEU ET MON. In chief a rose gules, and in base another argent. DROYT. In chief two roses gules, and in base as many argent.
	Henry V		Argent and azure.	A Swan with wings displayed argent, beaked gules, membered sable, ducally gorged and chained or, between three stumps of trees, one in dexter chief, and two in base of the last. DIEU ET MON. Two tree-stumps in pale or. DROYT. Five tree-stumps, three in chief, and two in base.
				Heraldic Antelope at gaze argent, maned, tufted, ducally gorged & chained or, chain reflexed over the back, between four roses gules. DIEU ET MON. Two roses in pale gules. DROYT. Five roses in saltire gules.
	Henry VII		Argent and vert.	A Greyhound courant argent, collared gules. Whole being seme of Tudor roses, Portcullises, and Fleurs-de-lys or.
				A Dragon gules, between two roses of the last in chief, and three in base, argent. DIEU ET MON. A rose gules in chief, rose argent in base. DROYT. In chief three roses gules, in base two argent.
	Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth		Gules throughout.	A Lion of England imperially crowned statant on a crown. PAX QUAERITUR. BELLO. The field promiscuously strewed with the letters O.P. or.

Standards and devices

Standards

The

Heraldry Achievement Blazon Coat of arms Officer of arms Cadency Crest Compartment Helmet Mantling Quartering Impalement Shield Supporters Attributed arms Badge Banner of arms Canting arms Ecclesiastical heraldry Heraldic flags Vexillology

Royal heraldry in the United Kingdom United Kingdom Royal coat of arms Royal Standard Cadency labels of the Royal Family Imperial State Crown The Lion and the Unicorn England Royal arms Royal Standards Honi soit qui mal y pense Dieu et mon droit St Edward's Crown Tudor Crown Royal Badges (Tudor rose) Supporters College of Arms Scotland Royal coat of arms Royal Standard Nemo me impune lacessit In My Defens God Me Defend Crown of Scotland Court of the Lord Lyon Wales Royal Badge Prince of Wales's feathers Welsh Dragon Monarchy of the United Kingdom Heraldry

Kingdom of England History Timeline Anglo-Saxon England Heptarchy Kingdom of England Norman conquest Anglo-Normans Angevin Empire Wars of the Roses Tudor period Stuart period English Renaissance English Reformation Elizabethan era Union of the Crowns Overseas possessions Gunpowder Plot Jacobean era Civil War Interregnum Commonwealth of England The Protectorate Restoration Popish Plot Glorious Revolution Maritime history Economy in the Middle Ages Union with Scotland Royal Houses Wessex Knýtlinga Normandy Angevin Plantagenet Lancaster York Tudor Stuart Orange-Nassau Politics Law Witenagemot Curia Regis Parliament House of Lords House of Commons Monarchy Council of State Lord Protector Peerage Privy Council Ministries Secretary of State Governance Elizabethan Star Chamber Whigs Tories Acts of Parliament: to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 1642–1660 1660–1699 1700–1706 Military Anglo-Saxon military Warfare English Army New Model Army Royal Navy Ships History Geography Counties Islands Places Towns Castles Palaces Demographics English language English people list Culture Religion Church of England Cuisine Folklore Morris dance Country dance Architecture Anglo-Saxon English Gothic Tudor Elizabethan Jacobean Queen Anne Georgian Symbols National flag (list) Heraldry Coat of arms College of Arms Royal Badges Royal Supporters Royal Standard Crown Jewels Tudor rose Oak tree St George Articles on the history of England

• Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1986). The Art of Heraldry. Bloomsbury Books. 

Bibliography

Notes

References

• Royal Arms of England
• Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
• List of English flags
• Heraldry

See also

Dieu et mon droit (originally Dieu et mon droyt; French: 'God and my right'), as seen on Royal standards since King Edward III, is said to have first been adopted as the royal motto by King Henry V in the 15th century, and consistently so used by most later English (and British) kings, with few exceptions. It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the Coat of arms of the United Kingdom.^[9]

Motto

The term George I – were yellow and red. In all subsequent reigns, they have been scarlet and blue.

Livery colours

Supporters are figures of living creatures each side of an armorial shield, appearing to support it. The origin of supporters can be traced to their usages in tournaments, on Standards, and where the shields of the combatants were exposed for inspection. Medieval Scottish seals afford numerous examples in which the 13th and 14th century shields were placed between two creatures resembling lizards or dragons. The Royal Supporters of the monarchs of England are a menagerie of real and imaginary beasts, including the lion, leopard, panther, and tiger, the antelope, greyhound, a cock and bull, eagle, red and gold dragons, and since 1603 the current unicorn.^[7]

Supporters

All sorts of devices were used on standards, usually badges, and sometimes the crest, but invariably the largest and most dominant object on a standard was one of the supporters. The whole banner was usually fringed with the livery colours, giving the effect of the bordure compony. Except in funerals, these standards were not used after the Tudor period, probably because of the creation of a standing army in the reign of Henry VIII.^[6]

The seals of William II and Henry I included many devices regarded as badges. Stephen I used a sagittary (centaur) as a badge. Badges were widely used and borne by the first five Plantagenets, notably the planta genista (broom plant) from which their name derived; a star and crescent interpreted by some as a sun and moon; the genet of Henry II; the rose and thistle of Anne; the white hart of Richard II; the Tudor rose and portcullis. The Stuarts were the last to bear personal badges, ceasing with Anne; the royal badges afterward became more akin to national emblems, evolving into our modern versions.^[5]

Royal Greyhound

Badges may possibly have preceded crests. The Norman kings and their sons may have originally used lions as badges of kingship. The lion was a Royal Badge long before heraldic records, as Henry I gave a shield of golden lions to his son-in-law Geoffrey of Anjou in 1127.

Badges

[4]