Tudor Crown (heraldry)

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Contemporary rendition of the Tudor Crown

The Tudor Crown, also known as the Imperial Crown, is a widely used symbol in the heraldry of the

British monarch personally and "the Crown", meaning the sovereign source of governmental authority. As such, it appears on numerous official emblems in the United Kingdom, British Empire and Commonwealth.[1]

History

The heraldic Tudor Crown as depicted in A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, 1909.

The heraldic depictions of the royal crown have undergone many changes in their form and enrichment. The crown began to assume its present form in the reign of

Tudor crown (made either for Henry VII or Henry VIII) which had four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, and also four arches rising almost to a point, the arches being studded with pearls. This crown was destroyed during the Protectorate.[2]

After the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II based the royal crown on the new St Edward's Crown, which had four crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, the number of arches was reduced to two and the curvature of the arches being depressed at the point of intersection. On this pattern the royal crown was depicted until the reign of Queen Victoria.[2]

royal coat of arms
depicted with a Tudor Crown.

While various crown symbols had been used for this purpose for many years previously, in 1880 after Queen Victoria became

small diamond crown of Queen Victoria.[2][3] As a result of this change the depiction of the crown was very much "at the mercy" of the artist and many variants emerged. After the accession of Edward VII the War Office raised the issue of a standardised design for use by the army. The king decided on the 'Tudor' or 'imperial' crown design, and henceforth only this depiction of the crown was used.[4]

In 1952 Queen Elizabeth II requested the design be replaced with a representation of the St Edward's Crown which she wore at her coronation. Many, though not all, of the derived designs around the world were updated to match.[2]

In Canada, the Tudor Crown has been used since 1907 in the Canadian Government Inspection Legend on inspected meat products. The inspection legend (or symbol) consists of two concentric circles: the outer ring has the word "Canada" at the top and a number at the bottom identifying the place of production; the inner circle contains a black and white rendering of the Tudor Crown.[citation needed]

Following the death of Elizabeth II, the design of King Charles III's royal cypher was announced on 27 September 2022, which featured the Tudor crown rather than the St Edward’s Crown. According to the College of Arms, this depiction will now be used in representations of the Royal Arms, badges and military uniforms.[5]

Gallery

Coats of arms

Cyphers

  • Royal cypher of King Edward VII
    King Edward VII
  • Royal cypher of King George V
    Royal cypher of
    King George V
  • Royal cypher of King Edward VIII
    Royal cypher of
    King Edward VIII
  • Royal cypher of King George VI
    Royal cypher of
    King George VI
  • Royal cypher of King Charles III
    Royal cypher of
    King Charles III
  • Dual cypher of Charles III and Queen Camilla
    Dual cypher of Charles III and Queen Camilla
  • Design element of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's 90th birthday commemorative coin, 1990
    Design element of
    Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
    's 90th birthday commemorative coin, 1990

Flags

Others

See also

References

  1. ^ Boutell, Charles (1864). Heraldry, Historical and Popular. Richard Bentley. p. 318. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  2. ^
    OCLC 834888
    .
  3. ^ Canada, Senate of. "The Rose and Crown: Parliament's royal symbols, part one". SenCanada. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  4. S2CID 46081713. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help
    )
  5. ^ "Royal Cypher - College of Arms". www.college-of-arms.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-09-28.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tudor Crown in heraldry.
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