News & Grants - College of Arms
Following the death of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of United Arab Emirates and Emir of Abu Dhabi, 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, Friday 13 May until 20.00hrs on Saturday 14 May.
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.
Arundel Herald
11 May 2022
The Earl Marshal, with the consent of Her Majesty, has appointed Anne Elizabeth Curry to the office of Arundel Herald Extraordinary. Professor Curry is a distinguished medieval historian with research interests centered on the wars between England and France in the later middle ages. In particular she has studied and written on the Battle of Agincourt, Joan of Arc, and medieval soldiers, publishing numerous books and articles on these subjects. She played a leading role in the creation of the medieval soldier online database, and chaired the Agincourt 600 Trust which marked the 600th anniversary of the battle.
Professor Curry has also been Chair of the Battlefields Trust, a Trustee of the Royal Armouries, President of the Historical Association, Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society and Master of the Fletchers’ Company. She grew up in Chester-le-Street, co. Durham, before studying at Manchester. Her academic career took her to Teesside and then to Reading, before she was appointed a Professor at the University of Southampton. She went on to be Dean of Humanities before retiring in 2019. She is now Emeritus Professor of Medieval History.
Her Majesty's Warrant of Appointment, which was dated 3 May 2022, was issued in time for Anne Curry to take part in the State Opening of Parliament on 10 May, the first woman herald ever to have done so.
Flag resources on College of Arms website: the following official resources have been made available online
Flag Flying Days 2022
Union Flag: FAQs
Union Flag: approved designs
Flags on churches
Flag-flying news by email
Illustrated left is the design of the Union Flag as proposed by the Officers of Arms and approved by Order in Council of George III on 5 November 1800. College reference: I.36/68.
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.
Portcullis Pursuivant
23 February 2022By Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm dated 21 February 2022, Her Majesty The Queen has been pleased to appoint Dominic Charles Davenport Ingram to the Office of Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms, vacant by the promotion in 2017 of Christopher John Fletcher-Vane, now Chester Herald of Arms. The appointment has been gazetted here.
Dominic Ingram was born in Gloucestershire and educated at Pate’s Grammar School and the University of Oxford, where he read History at Magdalen College and received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of Studies and Doctor of Philosophy.
