Heraldic

labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...

are used to differentiate the personal coats of arms of members of the royal family of the United Kingdom from that of the monarch and from each other. In the Gallo-British heraldic tradition, cadency marks have been available to "difference" the arms of a son from those of his father, and the arms of brothers from each other, and traditionally this was often done when it was considered important for each man to have a distinctive individual coat of arms and/or to differentiate the arms of the head of a house from junior members of the family. This was especially important in the case of arms of sovereignty: to use the undifferenced arms of a kingdom is to assert a claim to the throne. Therefore, in the English royal family, cadency marks were used from the time of Henry III, typically a label or bordure alluding to the arms of the bearer's mother or wife. After about 1340, when Edward III made a claim to the throne of France, a blue label did not contrast sufficiently with the blue field of the French quarter of the royal arms; accordingly most royal cadets used labels

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

: that of the heir apparent was plain, and all others were charged.''A Complete Guide to Heraldry'' by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1909), p. 494. (Online texts at https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxduoft or http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~bprince/hr/foxdavies/index.htm .) Bordures of various tinctures continued to be used into the 15th century.

The label

In the ordinary system of differences a label of three points (which has also been termed a label with three files) is the distinction of the eldest son during the lifetime of his father. In the oldest rolls of arms the labels are all of five points; but labels of three points were at an early period used interchangeably. Besides being used as mere temporary marks of cadency, labels are also employed as permanent distinctions, borne (like any other charge) by every member of some particular branches of certain families. Labels are the principal cadency marks used in certain royal families. In the British royal family, all labels are ''

'' (white). The sons and daughters of the sovereign all bear labels of three points argent; that of the arms of the Prince of Wales is plain, but all others are charged. Further descendants of princes bear labels of five points charged. All such differences should be borne on the arms, crest, and supporters.

Charges

The system of a special mark for difference for each member of the family goes back to the time of Henry III, whose successor, as a prince, placed such a mark on the shield of England. Since 1340 this label has almost always been white, and overlaid with small figures, or charges, such as red crosses of St George.

Ottfried Neubecker Ottfried Neubecker (22 March 1908 – 8 July 1992) was a German vexillologist and heraldist. Early life and education He was born 22 March 1908 in Kragujevac in Serbia, into the family of a university teacher. From 1925 he studied in Heidelb ...

John Brooke-Little John Philip Brooke Brooke-Little (6 April 1927 – 13 February 2006) was an English writer on heraldic subjects, and a long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the Society of He ...

: ''Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning'' (1997). . "Signs of Differencing" (pp. 96–97). This red cross represents England and its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

, and was first borne by Richard of Bordeaux (future king Richard II) before the death of his father

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

in 1376. Other charges used: * A blue anchor, a symbol of hope, or of naval service, as borne by several Dukes of York. * The Crown of England (sometimes called the Imperial or

St Edward's Crown St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th cen ...

) borne by the abdicated king the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his abdication on 11 December 1936. The dukedom takes its name from the town where Windsor Castle, ...

, which is as unusual as the occurrence itself. * Roses: the

Tudor Rose The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor rose consists o ...

(combined red and white) has been used as an English royal badge since 1485. * Red hearts may allude to the arms of

Lüneburg Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also called ...

(part of the Hanoverian arms) or – for the descendants of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark – to the

coat of arms of Denmark The coat of arms of Denmark ( da, Danmarks rigsvåben) has a lesser and a greater version. The state coat of arms () consists of three pale blue lion (heraldry), lions attitude (heraldry)#Passant, passant wearing crown (heraldic charge), crowns ...

. * The blue

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

appears amongst the Royal Badges in England of the Stuarts. * The

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

is an ancient badge of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. * The escallop shell was traditionally a token of pilgrimage on the

Way of St James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

. The shell in the labels of the dukes of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

and Sussex alludes to those of the Spencer arms of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. * The bee is a canting charge in the label of

Princess Beatrice of York Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...

. * The

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

is a badge of Ireland, associated with St Patrick, who used it to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity.

Labels used since the Hanoverian succession

File:Arms of the United Kingdom.svg, UK Arms since accession of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952 File:Arms of Charles, Prince of Wales.svg, The Prince of Wales, 1911–2022 File:Arms EldestSon OfMonarch OfUnitedKingdom.svg, Heir apparent to the monarch, if not granted separate arms as Prince of Wales File:Shield of Arms of the Duke of Rothesay.svg, The Duke of Rothesay File:Inescutcheon of the Duke of Rothesay.svg, Inescutcheon of the Duke of Rothesay File:Arms of Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.svg, Albert, Prince Consort File:Arms of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.svg, Prince Alfred (as Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) File:Arms of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.svg, Prince Alfred (as Duke of Edinburgh) File:Arms of Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg.svg,

Princess Beatrice Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charle ...

File:Arms of Edward, Duke of Windsor.svg, The Duke of Windsor File:Arms of Mary, the Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood.svg, Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood File:Arms of Henry, Duke of Gloucester.svg, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester File:Arms of George, Duke of Kent.svg, Prince George, Duke of Kent File:Arms of Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.svg, Princess Margaret File:Arms of William of Gloucester.svg, Prince William of Gloucester File:Arms of Richard, Duke of Gloucester.svg, The Duke of Gloucester File:Arms of Edward, Duke of Kent.svg, The Duke of Kent File:Arms of Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy.svg, Princess Alexandra File:Arms of Michael of Kent.svg, Prince Michael of Kent File:Arms of Anne, the Princess Royal.svg, The Princess Royal File:Arms of Andrew, Duke of York.svg, The Duke of York File:Arms of Edward, Earl of Wessex.svg, The Earl of Wessex File:Arms of Harry, Duke of Sussex.svg, The Duke of Sussex File:Arms of Beatrice of York.svg, Princess Beatrice File:Arms of Eugenie of York.svg, Princess Eugenie

References

{{Royal heraldry in the United Kingdom British heraldry

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

British monarchy

National symbols of the United Kingdom * House of Hanover House of Windsor British royal family

The label

Charges

Labels used since the Hanoverian succession

See also

References