Following the death of Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, special instructions have been received that as a mark of respect UK Government Buildings should lower their Union Flags to half-mast from as soon as possible today, Sunday 4th February 2024, until 20.00hrs on Monday 5th February.

Any other UK national flags flown alongside the Union Flag when it is at half-mast should also be at half-mast. If a flag of a foreign nation is normally flown on the same stand as, or instead of, the Union Flag, it should be removed.

Local authorities are not bound by this request but may wish to follow it for guidance. Devolved administrations are responsible for issuing instructions for the flying of the Union Flag on buildings in their estate and others as necessary. Enquiries regarding the correct protocols for the flying of Union and other flags should be addressed to the Officer in Waiting at the College of Arms in the first instance.

Register to receive up-to-date advice from the College of Arms on official flag-flying days, instructions for flying flags at half-mast, and other relevant information, here.

Presentations of Grants by Queen Elizabeth II

During the reign of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on several occasions The Queen personally presented grants of arms.

At Melbourne Town Hall on 6 April 1970, The Queen presented to the Lord Mayor of Melbourne the Letters Patent of Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms dated 18 March 1970, which altered the city’s arms and crest, granted it supporters and a badge, and exemplified a standard [College reference: Grants 132/319]. The blazons were as follows:

Arms: Argent on a Cross cotised Gules between in the first Quarter a Fleece proper banded Azure ringed Gules in the second Quarter on a Mount a Black Bull statant in the third Quarter on Waves of the Sea a Whale naiant spouting and in the fourth Quarter on Waves of the Sea a three masted Ship in full sail a representation of the Royal Crown all also proper.

Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours Out of a Mural Crown Or a demi Kangaroo to the sinister regardant proper.

Supporters: On either side a Lion rampant Or crowned with a Mural Crown Sable and gorged with a Collar Gules charged with two Mullets Argent attached thereto a Chain reflexed over the back also Gules.

Badge: A Fountain charged with a Cross Moline throughout and ensigned by a length of Wall with three crenels Or.

The Letters Patent may be seen here.

Commonwealth of Virginia coat of armsAt the University of Virginia on 10 July 1976, as part of her visit to celebrate the bi-centenary of the United States of America, The Queen presented the Governor of Virginia the Letters Patent of Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms dated 3 June 1976 which devised arms, crest and supporters for the Commonwealth of Virginia [College reference: Foreign Arms 2/119]. The blazons were as follows:

Arms: Argent a Cross Gules between four Escutcheons each ensigned with a Royal Crown those in the first and fourth quarters emblazoned with the Arms of France (modern) quartering those of England the Escutcheon in the second quarter with the Arms of Scotland and that in the third quarter with the Arms of Ireland.

Crest: On a Wreath of the Colours a Female Figure couped below the shoulders proper crined Or vested Gules garnished Gold on her head an Eastern Crown of the last.

Supporters: On either side a Man in Armour (circa 1620) with Sword sheathed proper garnished Or his breast plate Argent charged with a Cross Gules his helmet with beaver raised and adorned with three Ostrich Feathers Argent supporting with his exterior hand a Spear proper tipped Argent.

Because the design included the royal crown and quarterings of the royal arms, The Queen had to approve the design before the devisal could be made. The design was one used by the Virginia Merchants and Colony of Virginia from around 1620 until 1776.

On 9 March 1977, as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations, The Queen granted supporters to Queensland at a ceremony at the Cloudland Ballroom, Brisbane, with York Herald in attendance, the text of the grant stating that it was ‘Given at Our Court at Brisbane, Queensland’ [College reference: I.84/2]. The supporters granted were On the dexter side a Red Deer and on the sinister side a Brolga wings elevated and addorsed both proper.

British Columbia coat of armsOn 15 October 1987, The Queen granted a crest (on a sovereign’s helm), supporters, and a compartment to British Columbia at a ceremony at the Law Courts, Vancouver, with York Herald in attendance, the text of the grant stating that it was ‘Given at Our Court at Vancouver’, and the warrant being counter-signed by the Secretary of State of Canada, who was also present [College reference: I.84/265]. The blazons were as follows:

Crest: Upon a Helm with a Wreath Argent and Gules the Royal Crest proper of General purpose of Our Royal Predecessor Queen Victoria differenced for Us and Our Successors in right of British Columbia with the Lion thereof garlanded about the neck with the Provincial Flower that is to say the Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) with leaves all proper Mantled Gules doubled Argent.

Supporters: On the dexter side a Wapiti Stag (Cervus canadensis) proper and on the sinister side a Bighorn Sheep Ram (Ovis canadensis).

Compartment: Beneath the Shield a Scroll entwined with Pacific Dogwood flowers slipped and leaved proper inscribed with the Motto assigned by the said Warrant of Our Royal Predecessor King Edward VII that is to say SPLENDOR SINE OCCASU

Following the death of His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of Kuwait, special instructions have been received that as a mark of respect UK Government Buildings should lower their Union Flags to half-mast from as soon as possible today, Saturday 16 December, until 20.00hrs on Sunday 17th December.

Any other UK national flags flown alongside the Union Flag when it is at half-mast should also be at half-mast. If a flag of a foreign nation is normally flown on the same stand as, or instead of, the Union Flag, it should be removed.

Local authorities are not bound by this request but may wish to follow it for guidance. Devolved administrations are responsible for issuing instructions for the flying of the Union Flag on buildings in their estate and others as necessary. Enquiries regarding the correct protocols for the flying of Union and other flags should be addressed to the Officer in Waiting at the College of Arms in the first instance.

Register to receive up-to-date advice from the College of Arms on official flag-flying days, instructions for flying flags at half-mast, and other relevant information, here.

Record Manuscripts of the Tudor VisitationsRecord Manuscripts of the Tudor Visitations: The College of Arms has published an important new volume, which provides a detailed catalogue and index to this key series of official record manuscripts, created by the heralds in the sixteenth century and preserved at the College ever since. The visitation manuscripts are one of the main classes of record, and have long been recognised as of vital significance for genealogical, heraldic and other areas of historical research. The volumes preserve records of periodic surveys of the arms and pedigrees of the gentry of England and Wales, carried out by the heralds between 1530 and the end of the seventeenth century.

There are thirty-two colour plates illustrating the types of manuscript and the principal hands occurring, and comprehensive indexes of family and personal names, places and subjects. The compiler of the Catalogue is Robert Yorke FSA, Archivist of the College of Arms between 1978 and 2011.  The volume was launched with a reception at the College of Arms on 19 October.

For more information see here. Copies can be ordered by emailing the College This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

New Appointments

03 November 2023

By Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 6 November 2023, His Majesty The King has been pleased to appoint Phillip Alan Bone to the Office of Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, vacant by the promotion of Adam Simon Tuck, now Lancaster Herald of Arms. The appointment has been gazetted here.

Phillip Bone was born in Bedfordshire and educated at Bedford School and at Exeter College, Oxford, where he read Literae Humaniores and subsequently received the degrees of Master of Studies and Doctor of Philosophy in Classical Languages and Literature. He subsequently lectured in Ancient Greek Language and Literature at the University of Nottingham.

By Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 2 November 2023, His Majesty The King has been pleased to appoint Adam Simon Tuck to the Office of Lancaster Herald of Arms, vacant by the promotion in 2021 of Robert John Baptist Noel, now Norroy and Ulster King of Arms. The appointment has been gazetted here.

A Catalogue of Manuscripts in the College of Arms: Records Volume 1

Record Manuscripts of the Tudor VisitationsThe College of Arms is delighted to announce the publication of an important new volume, which provides a detailed catalogue and index to this key series of official record manuscripts, created by the heralds in the sixteenth century and preserved at the College ever since. 

The visitation manuscripts are one of the main classes of record, and have long been recognised as of vital significance for genealogical, heraldic and other areas of historical research. The volumes preserve records of periodic surveys of the arms and pedigrees of the gentry of England and Wales, carried out by the heralds between 1530 and the end of the seventeenth century.

The first part of this substantial 805-page volume catalogues the College’s Tudor visitation manuscripts in detail, describing their content, relation to each other and to other manuscripts, and also their physical make-up. The Tudor manuscripts are much more heterogenous than the Stuart ones, and include considerable amounts of interesting non-visitation material. All the main family names occurring in the visitations are listed.

The second part of the volume consists of a complete analytical list of all Tudor visitation manuscripts, both in the College and in other repositories, arranged by county and giving the published editions. The general apparatus includes four appendices; one of these is a chronological list of visitations and another a biographical list of heralds and others connected with the visitations. A lengthy introduction discusses all aspects of the manuscripts catalogued and also looks at the process of visitation in the Tudor period. 

Tudor visitation Plate3There are thirty-two colour plates illustrating the types of manuscript and the principal hands occurring, and comprehensive indexes of family and personal names, places and subjects.

The Author
The compiler of the Catalogue is Robert Yorke FSA, Archivist of the College of Arms between 1978 and 2011.

Price
£60 plus postage and packing

TO ORDER

•  by e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
•  by telephone to: 0207 248 2762
•  by post to: Catalogue of Manuscripts, College of Arms, 130 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4BT

ISBN 978 0 9506 980 3 8

Following the attacks on Israel, special instructions have been received that as a mark of respect, UK Government Buildings able to fly the Israel flag and to light up buildings or monuments, should do so from as soon as possible today 8 October 2023 until 20:00 on Friday 13 October. Other organisations may wish to follow suit.

Local authorities are not bound by this request. Devolved administrations are responsible for issuing instructions for the flying of the Union Flag on buildings in their estate and others as necessary. Enquiries regarding the correct protocols for the flying of Union and other flags should be addressed to the Officer in Waiting at the College of Arms in the first instance.

Register to receive up-to-date advice from the College of Arms on official flag-flying days, instructions for flying flags at half-mast, and other relevant information, here.

Homage at coronationHis Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla were anointed and crowned by the Lord-Archbishop of Canterbury at the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster on the 6th day of May 2023.

Image Yui Mok/Alamy.

Stole Royal

11 May 2023

Stole Royal a

The Stole with which His Majesty The King was invested during the Coronation on Saturday 6 May was made by the Royal School of Needlework to a design of Timothy Noad, Herald Painter at the College of Arms, created by him under the supervision of Garter King of Arms.

The Stole was commissioned as a present to The King by the Worshipful Company of Girdlers.

Stole Royal b

The design makes reference to earlier Coronation Stoles and features the Tudor rose, thistle, shamrock and leek together with an eagle beneath a Tudor crown. The symbols of the four evangelists also appear, worked in gold on purple roundels, as do the cross keys of St Peter, the patron saint of Westminster Abbey, and the dove symbol of the Holy Ghost. Additional panels in the design were inspired by the geometric patterns of the Abbey’s Cosmati pavement on which the Coronation Chair sat during the Coronation Service. The gridiron, symbol of St Lawrence, patron saint of the Girdlers Company, also appears.

Coronation

09 May 2023

The Officers of Arms of the College of Arms and its Scottish counterpart the Court of the Lord Lyon were proud to take part in the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey alongside the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk G.C.V.O.

Officers from the College of Arms in attendance at the Abbey were:

David White, Garter Principal King of Arms
Timothy Duke, Clarenceux King of Arms
Robert Noel, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms
Clive Cheesman, Richmond Herald
Peter O'Donoghue, York Herald
The Hon. Christopher Vane, Chester Herald
John Petrie O.B.E., Windsor Herald
John Martin Robinson, Maltravers Herald Extraordinary
David Rankin-Hunt C.V.O., M.B.E., T.D., Norfolk Herald Extraordinary
Thomas Lloyd O.B.E., Wales Herald Extraordinary
Professor Anne Curry, Arundel Herald Extraordinary
Adam Tuck, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant
Mark Scott, Bluemantle Pursuivant
Dominic Ingram, Portcullis Pursuivant
Thomas Johnston, Rouge Croix Pursuivant

Officers from the Lyon Court in attendance at the Abbey were:

Joseph Morrow C.V.O., C.B.E., K.C., Lord Lyon King of Arms
The Hon. Adam Bruce W.S., Marchmont Herald
Liam Devlin, Rothesay Herald
Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw Bt., L.V.O., K.C., Albany Herald Extraordinary
George Way of Plean, Carrick Pursuivant
John Stirling W.S., Ormond Pursuivant
Roderick Macpherson, Unicorn Pursuivant
Professor Gillian Black, Linlithgow Pursuivant Extraordinary
Colin Russell, Falkland Pursuivant Extraordinary
Philip Tibbetts, March Pursuivant Extraordinary

Officers of Arms in Westminster Hall

Officers of the College of Arms and the Lyon Court can be distinguished by their different tabards, the tabards of the Scottish Officers being those of the Royal Arms used in Scotland. The Kings of Arms are wearing their Crowns which were donned the moment St. Edward's Crown was placed upon The King's head by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Coronation is the only occasion when the Kings of Arms wear their Crowns of office and when Officers wear white breeches instead of the usual black.

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The College of Arms Newsletter is produced every three months and sent automatically and free to those who subscribe. Other benefits for those who submit their names in this way include advance notice of College of Arms events, relevant publications, and media appearances.

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