The coat of arms of Prince Edward Island, officially the King's Arms in Right of Prince Edward Island, are the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, being the arms of King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

in right of the province. They were created when the shield and motto in the achievement were granted in 1905 by royal warrant from King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

. The latest iteration was given by the

Canadian Heraldic Authority The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA; french: Autorité héraldique du Canada) is part of the Canadian honours system under the Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for t ...

in 2002.

History

In the chief of the shield is the lion passant (or "leopard") of England. The lower portion depicts three oak saplings, representing the Island's three counties, beneath a mature oak that originally represented Britain. Prior to the adoption of the current coat of arms, the trees were used, without the lion, as the symbol of the province. The additions to the arms were granted on 26 April 2002, and the process was completed on 13 December of the same year, when

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson (; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian journalist who served from 1999 to 2005 as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 19 ...

unveiled the crest, supporters, and compartment, after which the full achievement was taken into official use. This was requested by Prince Edward Island Premier

Pat Binns Patrick George Binns (born October 8, 1948), is a Canadian diplomat, the 30th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1996 to 2007 and Canadian Ambassador to Ireland from 2007 to 2010. Binns has a long history of public service, most notably being ...

to commemorate the 150th anniversary of responsible government on the island.

Symbolism

The crest is a crowned blue jay holding in its beak a sprig of

red oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

, both symbols of the island. The crown represents royal sovereignty and its use in the arms is an honour granted by the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. The thistles represent

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 Red rose represents the house of Lancaster whilst the white rose in the middle represents the house of York. The gold lion ''passant'' is drawn from the arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. The supporters are silver foxes, rare animals native to the region;

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

farming was perfected on Prince Edward Island, and Island silver fox fur was prized. The fox also represents sagacity and wit. To denote other Island industries, one fox wears a garland of potato blossoms, and another one wears a length of fishing net. The compartment centres on a

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

eight-pointed star symbol representing the sun; this is surrounded by

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

s for England,

lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

for France,

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 ...

s for Scotland, and shamrocks for Ireland, as well as

Lady's Slipper Cypripedioideae is a subfamily of orchids commonly known as lady's slipper orchids, lady slipper orchids or slipper orchids. Cypripedioideae includes the genera '' Cypripedium, Mexipedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium'' and ''Selenipedium''. T ...

s, the floral emblem of the island. The island's

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

, ''Parva sub ingenti'' (the small under the protection of the great), is taken from

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's ''

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...

''. The full quotation is: :''...etiam Parnasia laurus parva sub ingenti matris se subicit umbra. :...so too a small plant, beneath its mother's mighty shade, upshoots the laurel-tree of Parnassus. It has been the island's motto since 1769.

Blazon

The shield was blazoned by Royal Warrant on 30 May 1905, as: :''Argent on an island Vert, to the sinister an oak tree fructed, to the dexter thereof three oak saplings sprouting all proper, on a chief Gules a lion passant guardant Or''. The warrant also specified the motto ''Parva sub ingenti''. This was augmented by proclamation, recorded in the PE
Royal Gazette
21 December 2002, with the following: :''A HELMET: Or mantled Gules doubled Argent with a wreath of these colours;'' :''AND FOR A CREST: On a grassy mount a blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') reguardant crowned with the Royal Crown and bearing in its beak a leaf of the red oak tree (''Quercus rubra'' L.) fructed proper;'' :''AND FOR SUPPORTERS: Two foxes (''Vulpes fulva'') Sable embellished Argent, that to the dexter gorged with a collar of potato blossoms proper, that to the sinister gorged with a length of fishnet Argent, both on a mount Vert set with a Mi'kmaq star Azure between lady's slipper flowers (''Cypripedium acaule''), red roses, thistles, shamrocks and white lilies proper.''

References

External links

Armorial Bearings (Government of Prince Edward Island)Arms of Prince Edward Island
in the online Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges {{Commons

Provincial symbols of Prince Edward Island

2002 establishments in Prince Edward Island 1905 establishments in Canada

History

Symbolism

Blazon

See also

References

External links