Arms of dominion

Arms of Dominion are the arms borne both by a monarch and the state in a monarchy.

In this respect they are both the national arms and the arms of the nation's monarch, who is the monarchy's sovereign, and are thus simultaneously the personal arms of the monarch and the arms of the state he or she reigns over.

The arms of the monarch and the arms of the realm[]

The famous heraldic author John Brooke-Little, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, in his book 'An Heraldic Alphabet' (page 38) wrote regarding Arms of Dominion:

"These, which are also styled 'arms of sovereignty', are those borne by a sovereign in respect of the territories he rules rather than his own family arms. The royal arms are arms of dominion; the Queen's arms of descent would be those of her own branch of the House of Saxony. Arms of dominion do not follow the ordinary rules and conventions of armory but are settled ad hoc by the monarch, usually, of course, with ministerial and heraldic advice."

Furthermore, in his 1983 revision to 'Boutell's Heraldry', Brooke-Little stated (page 222):

Royal Arms, or Arms of Dominion, are inseparable from the office and rank of royalty, and cannot be borne undifferenced by any person except the Sovereign...The Royal Arms may not be quartered without some difference. In the person of Sovereigns, all minor ranks and titles are merged in their royalty; consequently whatever arms they may previously have borne cease to be used at their accession, and no other arms may be quartered with the Royal Arms. The arms of the Sovereign are not impaled with those of his or her consort.

Therefore, in most hereditary monarchies the Arms of Dominion are also the Arms of State; they cannot be used by anyone else; no matter how closely related they are to the monarch. Thus younger members of Royal Houses will use arms that are similar to those of the monarch, but they are made slightly different by marks that are placed on the shield, including but not restricted to, labels. This is called cadency, and is equally applicable to the arms of non-royal families, but is not as enforced. Within royal families, however, it is rigidly enforced by the heraldic authorities of the particular country.

In republics, the arms of the head of state (who is not the sovereign by definition) are not the same as the arms of the state (which is sovereign – or rather – the people of the state are sovereign). For example, the coat of arms of the United States and the arms of the various Presidents are not the same. This is something that has been well established since pre-modern times; the arms of the various Doges of the Republics of Venice and Genoa were not the same as the republics over which they ruled.

Common external elements in arms of dominion are royal pavilions, which are used in most Arms of Dominion, modern and historical, except in the arms of countries that belong to the commonwealth of nations, such pavilions being peculiar to the style of heraldry that originated in the British Isles.

Examples of Arms of Dominion currently in use[]

Arms of Dominion of Mohammed VI, King of Morocco
Arms of Dominion of Tupou VI, King of Tonga
Arms of Dominion of Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco
Arms of Dominion of Hamad bin Khalifa, Emir of Qatar
Arms of Dominion of King Abdullah II, King of Jordan
Arms of Dominion of Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia
Arms of Dominion (jointly) of the Co-Princes of Andorra; Emmanuel Macron and Joan Enric Vives Sicília
Arms of Dominion of Sabah al-Ahmad, Emir of Kuwait
Arms of Dominion of Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden
Arms of Dominion of Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands
Arms of Dominion of Harald V, King of Norway
Arms of Dominion of Mswati III, King of Eswatini
Arms of Dominion of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Arms of Dominion of Prince Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein
Arms of Dominion of King Letsie III of Lesotho
Arms of Dominion of King Philippe of Belgium
Arms of Dominion of Hamad, King of Bahrain
Arms of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (for use in England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Arms of Dominion of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (for use in Scotland)

Examples of Arms of Dominion formerly in use by monarchies that have been abolished[]

Arms of Dominion of Faustin I, Emperor of Haiti
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes/Yugoslavia, 1919-1945
Arms of Dominion of the Emperors of Russia, 1857-1917
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of Serbia, 1882-1918
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of the Bulgarians (there are variants) until 1946
Arms of Dominion of King Victor Emmanuel III of the Albanians, 1939-1945
Arms of the Kings of Italy until 1946
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of Romania from 1881 to 1922
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of Romania, 1922-1947
Arms of the Kings of Greece (there are variants) from 1863 to 1922 and 1935 to 1974
Arms of the Kings of France and Navarre (there are variants) to 1792, 1814, and 1815-1830
Arms of Dominion of the Emperors of the French, 1804-1814, 1815 and (with modifications), 1852-1870
Arms of Dominion of the Shahs of Iran, 1925-1979
Arms of Dominion of Agustin I, Emperor of Mexico, 1822-1823
Arms of Dominion of Maximillian I, Emperor of Mexico,1863-1867
Arms of Dominion of the Emperors of Brazil, 1822-1889
Arms of Dominion of Bokassa I, Emperor of the Central African Empire
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of Yemen until 1962
Arms of Dominion of Idris I, King of Libya, 1951-1969
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of Egypt, 1922-1953
Arms of Dominion of the Kings of Iraq, 1921-1958