The Brunswick star is an

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

which in outline is an eight-pointed or sixteen-pointed star, but which is composed of many narrow rays. It is used in the

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

to surround the

royal cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

on various badges, such as that worn on the caps and

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

s of almost all

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

services in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. The name Brunswick refers to the German

Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg (), commonly known as the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg or Brunswick-Lüneburg, was an imperial principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the territory of present day Lower Saxony. In 1235, Otto I, Duke of ...

, better known as the Principality of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, which was ruled by the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

whose heads also became Kings of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The first Brunswick star as heraldic emblem was probably that of the Order of Saint Patrick, installed by King George I. Supposedly the shape is based on the representation of the clearest star of the Southern Hemisphere,

Achernar Achernar is the brightest star in the constellation of Eridanus and the ninth-brightest in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Eridani, which is Latinized from α Eridani and abbreviated Alpha Eri or α Eri. The name Ac ...

in the constellation of Eridanus as depicted in the Uranometria.

Users

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

* Estonian Rescue Board and Häirekeskus * Federal Police of Germany and various

State Police Forces State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. The branches include the Army, Air F ...

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

* Jamaica Defence Force * Lithuanian Police Force * National Police of Ukraine and the

Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (; ; ) is the Ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government that oversees the interior affairs of Ukraine. History Name *People's Committee of Internal ...

National Police Corps The National Police Corps (, CNP; ; also known simply as the National Police, ) is the national civilian police, police force of Spain. The CNP is mainly responsible for policing urban areas, whilst rural policing is generally the responsibil ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Netherlands Marine Corps The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Netherlands Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishme ...

* Polish Police *

Royal Dragoon Guards The Royal Dragoon Guards (RDG) is a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1992 by the amalgamation of two other regiments: The 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dr ...

* The Royal Regiment of Canada * University of London Officer Training Corps * The London Guards *

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

South African Police Service The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the Provinces of South Africa, provincial borders, and a Provincial Commis ...

(formerly

South African Police The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South Af ...

) * South Australian Country Fire Service * Zimbabwe Republic Police *

Kolkata Police Force The Kolkata Police () (formerly "Calcutta Police"), is the Law enforcement in India, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within the Kolkata metropolitan region, metropolitan area of the city of Kolkata, ...

Former

* Customs and Excise Department (Hong Kong) – before 1997 * The

Dutch police The National Police Corps (), colloquially in English as Dutch National Police or National Police Force, is the centralised, national law enforcement agency of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and its sole police force. Constituted under the prov ...

both municipal and state police – until 1 April 1993 * Kulangsu Municipal Police – until 1943Former Foreign Colonies and Major Concessions in China
at World Statesman.org * Shanghai Volunteer Corps and

Municipal Police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive fundi ...

– until 1942 *

Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...

– until 1990

References

Star symbols Heraldic charges {{Heraldry-stub