Kensington Palace has just revealed the Coat of Arms for Meghan Markle, the new Duchess of Sussex.
"The design of the Arms was agreed and approved by The Queen and Mr. Thomas Woodcock (Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England), who is based at the College of Arms in London," royal reporter Omid Scobie wrote on Twitter. The press release for the announcement also gave the first glimpse of Markle's official letterhead as a royal.
Symbolism-wise, the Palace explained the meaning of everything in its press release: "The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine of The Duchess’s home state. The three quills represent communication and the power of words." Markle did run a lifestyle blog, after all.
"Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California’s state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace," the press release continued. "It is customary for Supporters of the shield to be assigned to Members of the Royal Family and for wives of Members of the Royal Family to have one of their husband’s Supporters and one relating to themselves. The Supporter relating to The Duchess of Sussex is a songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak, which with the quill represents the power of communication."
"A Coronet has been assigned to The Duchess of Sussex. It is the Coronet laid down by a Royal Warrant of 1917 for the sons of daughters of the Heir Apparent. It is composed to two crosses patée , four fleurs-de-lys and two strawberry leaves."
Markle worked closely with the College of Arms during the design process so it’d be "both personal and representative."
