Category Archives: Nobility

Danish Coat of Arms Updated

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HM, King Frederik X has undertaken to issue a new, updated version of the Danish royal coat of arms dated December 20, 2024. The new version, prepared by Ronny Skov Andersen, simplifies the overall design.

It removes the three crowns of the Kalmar union and gives the arms of the Faeroe Islands and Greenland their own quarterings. It also places the arms of Denmark, originally the arms of the House of Estridsen, in the first quarter and instead of repeating it in the fourth quarter the arms of Schleswig are placed there. In addition, the Dannebrog, the cross that divides the shield into four quarters, has been returned to a more traditional form with the ends of the arms slightly flared. Overall, there remains the dynastic inescutcheon for the arms of the House of Oldenburg. The new version is:

The blason could be written as: A shield quartered by a cross pattée throughout Argent fimbriated Gules; first quarter Or, three lions passant in pale Azure crowned and armed Or langued Gules, nine hearts Gules (for Denmark); second quarter Azure a ram passant Argent armed and unguled Or (for the Faroe Islands); third quarter, Azure a polar bear rampant Argent (for Greenland); fourth quarter, Or two lions passant in pale Azure armed Or langued Gules (for Schleswig). Overall an escutcheon Or two bars Gules (for Oldenburg) the whole surrounded by the Collars of the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Elephant. Supporters two woodwoses armed with clubs Proper standing on a pedestal. All surrounded by a mantle Gules doubled Ermine crowned with a royal crown and tied up with tasseled strings Or.

This replaces the version of the coat of arms that had been modified after the reign of King Frederik IX by Queen Margrethe which had been in use since 1972. (below)

I think this updated version is aesthetically more pleasing. It is a slightly less busy composition and the juxtaposition of the arms of Denmark and those of Schleswig provide a more pleasing visual. There is no longer the multiplication of lions and the two quarters with fields Or look better on a diagonal from each other, as do the two quarters with fields Azure. It all seems less imbalanced. I also happen to think the style of the cross looks better that the simple cross throughout.

It is exciting to see heraldry—long erroneously thought by the ignorant to be stagnant and encrusted with the weight of history and therefore irrelevant to today’s society—being updated and dynamic. The current situation calls for an updated symbol of the monarchy. This was true in 1972 and it is just as true some 52 years later. I applaud the efforts of His Majesty and also Ronny Andersen and those who worked with him to devise this updated coat of arms.

Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg

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In his annual Christmas greeting, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg announced he will abdicate in favor of his son and heir, Hereditary Grand Duke, Guillaume.

The royal coat of arms consists of the arms of Luxembourg, (Barry of ten Argent and Azure, a Lion rampant queue forchée Gules crowned, armed and langued Or), quartered with the arms of the House of Nassau, (Azure billetty Or, a lion or armed and langued Gules). In the greater version of the coat of arms there is an inescutcheon overall of the arms of the dynastic house of Bourbon-Parma (Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or within a bordure Gules charged with eight escallops Argent). The dynastic arms of Bourbon-Parma are not usually included in the middle and lesser versions of the Grand Ducal coat of arms.

The Grand Duke of Luxembourg is the head of state of Luxembourg. Luxembourg has been a grand duchy since March 15,1815, when it was created from territory of the former Duchy of Luxembourg. It was in personal union with the Kingdom of the Netherlands until 1890 under the House of Orange-Nassau. Luxembourg is the world’s only sovereign grand duchy and since 1815, there have been nine monarchs.

The grand ducal family consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, whose sovereign territories passed cognatically from the House of Nassau to the House of Bourbon-Parma, itself a branch of the Spanish royal house which is agnatically a cadet branch of the House of Capet which originated in France.

Vittorio Emmanuele di Savoia RIP

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This morning it was announced the Head of the Royal House of Savoy, the son of the last King of Italy, Prince Vittorio Emmanuele, Duke of Savoy passed away at age 86 in Geneva, Switzerland.

He is succeeded as Head of the House of Savoy by his son and heir, Prince Emmanuele Filiberto, aged 51. In June 2023, Emanuele Filberto announced his intention to abdicate his claim to the throne in favor of his daughter, Princess Vittoria of Savoy, when he felt she was ready to succeed. This will cause a dynastic problem since the House of Savoy never allowed for female succession. In such a case the succession, already in dispute, could pass to another branch of the family, the House of Savoy-Aosta.

Danish Royal Arms Elsewhere

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In continuing my exploration of the royal arms of Denmark, leading up to the Abdication of Margrethe II and the Accession of Frederik X on January 14 I note with interest (not necessarily with any great significance, but merely with interest) that the Danish royal arms, the version used by the House of Oldenburg-Glückburg, occasionally turns up in other royal houses as well.

In particular, when the Greek monarchy was established in 1832 and offered to the Bavarian prince, Otto, whose reign lasted until his ouster in 1862, the Hellenic throne was then offered to Prince William of Denmark who ruled as George I of the Hellenes. The Wittlesbach arms placed at the center of the coat of arms of the Greek kingdom was replaced with a shield bearing the dynastic arms of the House of Glücksburg, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg. That was used during the next several reigns until the monarchy was abolished in 1924. Then, in 1935 when the monarchy was restored and King George II returned to the throne the coat of arms was modified again.

Now the center of the shield bore the greater coat of arms of the Danish royal house as used by his ancestor and King of Denmark, Christian IX from 1863-1903 before a modification of its own. In addition, the Greek coat of arms changed the two Woodwose supporters to depictions of Heracles as supporters. This coat of arms was then subsequently used by the remaining Greek kings until the monarchy was finally abolished in the 1973 referendum.

However, the last King of the Hellenes, Constantine II, had married Anne-Marie of Denmark, the daughter of King Frederik IX of Denmark and the sister of Queen Margrethe II. She bore the royal arms of Denmark as she inherited them from her father and the Danish royal arms made a double appearance in the reign of King Constantine II.

Through the Greek branch of the House of Oldenburg-Glücksburg the Danish royal arms also made their way to the UK. The late Prince Philip, husband of Elizabeth II, used the surname Mountbatten which he got from his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, later changed to Mountbatten, but he was born a prince of Greece (and Denmark). His father was Prince Andrew, the son King George I of the Hellenes and, himself, the son of King Christian IX of Denmark. So, the very first coat of arms devised for Philip Mountbatten, and used by him for only two years before adopting a different coat of arms, reflected his Greek and Danish heritage, as well as his mother’s British ancestry.

The Danish royal arms–as used by Christian IX– are on the dynastic shield in the center. In the dexter chief quarter the coat of arms of his grandmother, Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, and the daughter of Queen Victoria, (but with the escutcheon in pretense of Saxony inherited from her father, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha diplomatically removed) have been unusually and awkwardly added as a nod to his British ancestry, perhaps to quell any fears of the heiress presumptive, Elizabeth, marrying “a foreigner”. These were deemed unacceptable and in 1949 new arms were granted to him which he had a hand in designing.

This coat of arms includes quarters for Greece and Denmark (as well as Mountbatten and Edinburgh, his Dukedom) and make use of the Mountbatten lion supporter and crest, as well as the Greek Heracles supporter rather than the Danish Woodwose. You can tell because of the lion-skin loin cloth.

Another Greek Oldenburg-Glücksburg connection can be seen in the coat of arms of the Queen-Emerita of Spain, Sofia. She was born a princess of Greece (and Denmark), the eldest daughter of King Paul and Queen Frederika. Her coat of arms as Queen of Spain, wife of King Juan Carlos I is

Impaled with her husband’s coat of arms, Queen Sofia’s arms are those of the Greek royal house which she inherited from her father bearing the inescutcheon of the Danish royal arms as used by Christian IX. This shows the dynastic link to the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg dynasty; a shield containing the Dannebrog, a cross from the Danish flag, and quarterings representing Denmark, Schleswig, the former Kalmar Union, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg, Oldenburg, Delmenhorst, and the former Danish royal titles of King of the Wends and Goths.

Of course there is also the coats of arms of two sisters, both princesses of Denmark and daughters of Christian IX. Alexandra married the Prince of Wales and went on to become Queen of the UK as the spouse and consort of King Edward VII.

The other was Princess Dagmar who married Czar Alexander III and became Empress of Russia as Maria Feodorovna.

The Danish royal family has many connections to the other royal houses of Europe and the Danish Royal Arms, simplified once again by Queen Margrethe in 1972 to its present form, crops up in several different places which I simply find interesting.

Danish Coat of Arms

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With the approaching abdication of Queen Margrethe II and the accession of King Frederik X of Denmark I’ve been reading up on the heraldry used by the country and the royal house. The state coat of arms consists of three pale blue lions passant wearing crowns accompanied by nine red lilypads (normally represented as heraldic hearts), all in a golden shield with the royal crown on top. The national coat of arms of Denmark is similar to the state coat of arms, but without the royal crown above the shield.

It is historically the coat of arms of the House of Estridsen, the dynasty which provided the kings of Denmark between 1047 and 1412. The current design was introduced in 1819, under Frederik VI. Previously, there had been no distinction between the “national” and the “royal” coat of arms. Since 1819, there has been a more complex royal coat of arms of Denmark separate from the national coat of arms. I’ll take a look at that in another post.

Historically, the lions faced the viewer rather than forward and the number of hearts was not regulated and could be much higher. The “heart” shapes originally represented waterlily pads; a royal decree of 1972 still specifies these figures as søblade (“lake leaves”). Frederik VI also fixed the number of hearts to nine and decreed that the heraldic beasts were lions, as opposed to leopards, and consequently facing forward in 1819. The blazon is: Or, three lions passant in pale azure crowned and armed Or langued gules, nine hearts Gules.

Mechelen-Brussel

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On September 3 the new Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel (Malines-Bruxelles) was ordained a bishop and was installed as the 23rd Archbishop. The Most Reverend Luc Terlinden (54) is of the noble family of the viscounts and barons Terlinden. This makes him the first archbishop who is from the nobility since Mgr. de Méan (who was the last Prince-Bishop of Liège and died as Archbishop in 1830). There have been other nobles named as bishops in Belgium, however. It is disappointing that the archbishop chose to create and assume new arms (below) that only slightly refer to his noble family’s coat of arms (above, left). I’m sure many fine heraldist and genealogists are disappointed at that. The arms he has assumed aren’t bad, per se. Rather, it is that his ancestral arms are far better.