Arms of Victoria

Arms of His Majesty in Right of Victoria
Arms of His Majesty The King in Right of Victoria
Versions
Arms as used by HM Government in Victoria
Details
Armiger	August Charles I
Adopted	2014
Crest	Upon the Royal helm the crown of Victoria Proper, thereon a Wolf sejant affronté Argent armed and langued Gules, Royally crowned Proper holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both Proper
Escutcheon	Quaters 1 and 4: Quarterly Azure and Gules on a Pale Argent three Eagles Sable, between in the first quarter Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure. In the second quarter Argent three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure; in the third Azure a lion rampant Argent armed and langued Gules within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Or of the second, and in the fourth Gules a lion rampant Or armed and langued Gules.
	Quaters 2 and 3: Or, a two-headed Eagle displayed, wings elevated sable, Royally crowned.
Supporters	Dexter a Wolf Argent, holding a lance Tenné, point Or, flying therefrom to the dexter the Vicborg, sinister a Lion Or, holding a like lance flying therefrom to the sinister the Royal Flag of Gotzborg.
Compartment	A compartment underneath from which issue thistles one towards each side of the escutcheon.
Motto	Victoria In Honorem Semper Paratus
Orders	The Most Noble and Most Ancient Order of the Great White Wolf. (Arms feature the collar of the order)
Earlier
Use	Prior to the Union with Gotzborg See here

The Arms of Victoria , also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Victoria or formally as the Arms of His Majesty The King in Right of Victoria, is, since 2014, the official coat of arms of the Victorian monarch and thus also of Victoria. It is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of Scotland with distinctive Victorian elements replacing or added to those derived from the Scottish.

Use

The arms of Victoria are the arms of the Sovereign and signify national sovereignty and ownership. They are used as a mark of authority by various government agencies and representatives, including the Secretary of State and most courts, excluding the Court of the Lord Lupus. It is also present on all denominations of Victorian paper currency (in fact, the way the Arms are printed on each bill is a security feature). Until 2013 it was also on the cover of Victorian passports, Since 2013 this has been replaced by the arms of Gotzborg. Since 2014, a banner of the arms has formed the Royal Standard of Victoria, for use by the sovereign in his capacity as monarch of Victoria.

The personal flag of the Secretary of State has, since 2014, featured the crest of Her Majesty's Royal Arms of Victoria on a blue background.

The King awards Royal Warrants to various businesses that supply the Royal Household. This allows the business to display the Royal Arms on their packaging and stationery.

The Gotzborg Government in Victoria also uses the Royal Coat of Arms as a national symbol of Victoria, and, in that capacity, the Coat of Arms can be seen on several government documents and forms. Until 2014 it could be seen on passports, in the entrance to embassies and consulates, etc. However, even now, when used by the government and not by the sovereign himself, the coat of arms is often represented without the helm, as can be seen on a version of which is used by the Victoria Office.

Blazon

The heraldic blazon of Victoria's coat of arms is:

Quarterly the first and fourth Quarters, Quarterly Azure and Gules on a Pale Argent three Eagles Sable, between in the first quarter Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure. In the second quarter Argent three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure; in the third Azure a lion rampant Argent armed and langued Gules within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Or of the second, and in the fourth Gules a lion rampant Or armed and langued Gules. Quarters Second and Third: Or, a two-headed Eagle displayed, wings elevated sable, Royally crowned. And Upon the Royal helm the crown of Victoria Proper, thereon a Wolf sejant affronté Argent armed and langued Gules, Royally crowned Proper holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both Proper. A for supporters Dexter a Wolf Argent, holding a lance Tenné, point Or, flying therefrom to the dexter the Vicborg, sinister a Lion Or, holding a like lance flying therefrom to the sinister the Royal Flag of Gotzborg. Escutcheon encircled by the Order of the Great White Wolf. Below the shield upon a mound of thistles.

As granted by the Lord Lupus, King of Arms in March 2014.

Legal

As the Royal Arms are personal to the sovereign they cannot be used without consent. The coat of arms as designed in 2014 are protected under the jurisdiction of the Lord Lupus King of Arms and cannot be used or reproduced without authorisation. Legislation further states that No person shall adopt in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, any mark consisting of, or so nearly resembling as to be likely to be mistaken for... the arms, crest or flag adopted and used at any time by Victoria. In addition, under Victorian Heraldic Law, permission is always required when the work is being revised, adapted, or translated regardless if the purpose of the reproduction is for personal or public non-commercial distribution

Members of the Royal Family

Members of the Gotzborg Royal Family receive their own personalised arms which are based on the Royal Arms. Only children and grandchildren in the male line of the monarch are entitled to receive their own arms in this fashion. The arms of children of the monarch are differentiated by a three point label; grandchildren of the monarch are differentiated by a five point label. An exception is made for the eldest son of the Crown Prince, who receives a three point label. As heir to the throne, the Crown Prince is titled the Duke of Balkleith when in Victoria and as such uses the arms of that rank.

Queens consort and the wives of sons of the monarch also receive their own personalised coat of arms. Typically this will be the arms of their husband impaled with their own personal arms or those of their father. However, the consorts of a Queen regnant are not entitled to use the Royal Arms. Thus HRH The Prince Consort, Prince Alfred, Duke of Home husband of Victoria II used his own personal arms.

Currently the following members of the Royal Family have their own arms based on the Royal Arms:

Children and grandchildren of the monarch in the male line
Coat of arms	Shield of arms	Bearer	Difference
		Crown Prince of Gotzborg, inside Victoria.	It is used in Victoria rather than the arms of the Crown Prince. It is very different to the current royal coat of arms of Gotzborg. The arms of the Duke of Balkleith are shown, with the arms of the heir apparent to the Victorian throne (the Royal arms of Victoria with a three-point label) on an inescutcheon in the centre. Other elements of the coat of arms are similar to Royal coat of arms of Victoria before the union of the nations, but three-point labels are attached.

Symbolism

Element	Description	Image
Crown	The coat of arms are surmounted by a rendition of the Royal Crown of Victoria, which has been used in the coronations of Victoria's monarchs. This element represents Victoria's status as a constitutional monarchy headed by a sovereign king or queen. This style of crown has been in existance since 1911 and was the preferred crown of Queen Victoria I.
Crest	The crest is based on the Royal Crest of Scotland but differenced by the addition of a white wolf, the national animal of Victoria, It appears on the Flag of the Secretary of State for Victoria symbolizing that they are the representative of the Sovereign. The crest consists of a crowned Azure wolf sitting on top of the Royal Crown of Victoria and holding a sword downwards in its right paw, and the Septre of Victoria in the other.
Helm	The arms show a royal helmet, which is a barred helm of gold and silver embossed with a thistle design looking outward, with mantling of white and yellow.
Escutcheon	The escutcheon is divided quarterly. The first and fourth division at the viewer's top left and bottom right contains Quarterly 1) three yellow lions that represent Abbervale 2) three white lions that represent Dundas. 3) bears the white lion rampant of Moncrieff in a double tressure border with fleurs-de-lis, used as a symbol of Moncrieff since at least the reign of Edward I. 4) the yellow lion rampant who's inclusion represents Strathalmond. Running down the centre of quaters 1 and 4 are the three black eagles of Adraisia. Quaters 2 and 3 see the adaptation of the Royal Arms of Gotzborg the Double headed eagle with the crown of Gotzborg above. This addition was added to the Arms of Victoria in 2013 after the union between both nations.
Order	The order depicts the collar of The Most Noble and Most Ancient Order of the Great White Wolf which is the highest and only order of chivalry specific to Victoria. This component was added by the King in 2014 on the advice of his Secretary of State for Victoria. With the patriation of oversight of arms to Victoria through the Lord Lupus the same year. The Lord Lupus now grants entitlement by all recipients to encircle their own arms with the order, if arms are granted to them. During 2014 the arms used by government ministers and institutions changed to reflect the new version with the order.
Motto	The motto of Victoria is in Latin Victoria In Honorem Semper Paratus (Always prepared to protect the honour of Victoria). This phrase was suggested in 2014 by Lord Olsen, then Secretary of State, when the Arms were redesigned. The full version of the motto can be seen below the Arms of Victoria as used by HM Government. The shortened version of the motto in Latin Paratus (Prepared) is shown on the Royal Arms above the Crest of Victoria.
Supporters	Supporting the shield on either side are the Victorian Wolf and Gotzborg Lion. The Victorian Wolf stands on the viewer's left and holds a gold-pointed wooden lance flying the Vicborg. The Gotzborg lion holds a lance flying the Royal Flag of Gotzborg. The wolf is crowned with the Royal Crown of Victoria whilst the Lion is crowned with the Royal Crown of Gotzborg.
Compartment	The entire coat of arms rests on the compartment, which is made up of the floral emblem of Victoria. The thistle has been the floral symbol of Victoria since 1891 depicting the Scottish ancestry of Victoria I.

See also

• Flag of Victoria
• List of Victorian regional symbols
• Cadency labels of the Victorian royal family
• Royal coat of arms of Gotzborg
• Court of the Lord Lupus