| A New Coat
As happened with Prince William on his 18th birthday, Prince Harry also has been granted arms on his 18th birthday, September 15th, 2002. And just as William has had incorporated in his arms a memento from his mother’s arms, an escallop, so too has Harry ~ he will bear three escallops on the points of his label. Today it is a label of five points, the escallops appearing on the centre and outer points, but after the Queen’s death it will become a label of three points, each charged with the escallop. |
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| The escallops are too small to be seen easily on the arms at the size of those pictured above right. They are red, as shown on the left at a larger size. (The escallops in the Spencer arms, as borne by the late Princess of Wales, are silver.)
In early heraldry the escallop was associated with pilgrimages, particularly because it was worn as a badge by pilgrims going to the shrine of St James of Compostella, and some coats may bear an escallop as a symbol of an early pilgrimage. However, the escallops in the Spencer arms have no such meaning. |
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| Mr Peter Gwynn-Jones, Garter Principal King of Arms, said, “After changing convention for Prince William by using symbols derived from his maternal arms it made sense to develop this further for Prince Harry. This is especially significant because, unlike his elder brother who will one day see his arms alter to reflect his changing responsibilities, Prince Harry will always keep the escallop shells from his mother’s Spencer family arms and, in time, may pass them on to his children. I understand that both Princes are delighted to bear Arms that celebrate both their parents’ families and it has been a pleasure to evolve the rules of Royal Heraldry in order to make this possible.” | |||||||||||
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