National Arms, part 4
QUEEN ANNE
Queen Anne succeeded to the throne upon the death of William II in 1702. She bore the Arms of her father James II. Within a few years of her accession to the throne the Union with Scotland in 1707 enacted a constitutional change which in turn required a change to the Royal Arms. Remarshalling the contents of the shield indicated the change. These then continued to display four quarters, but the first and fourth quarters now bore the impaled Arms of England and Scotland, France was relegated to the second quarter, and the third quarter remained as before containing the Harp of Ireland.
In 1714 the House of Hanover , in the person of George I, succeeded to the throne. He did not follow continental practice but introduced an abbreviated version of his Arms as Elector of Hanover onto the fourth quarter of the Royal Coat of Arms. This quarter contained not only the arms of Brunswick, Lüneburg and Hanover, but also an inescutcheon ( smaller shield within the arms) to represent the office of Arch-Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire. On the Union with Ireland, on January 1st 1801, the opportunity was taken to remove the Arms of France, which had for so long represented an empty claim which was no longer even possible following the French Revolution and subsequent extinction of the Monarchy. The Arms were once more remarshalled to show England in the first quarter, Scotland in the second, Ireland in the third with England once again in the fourth, overall was placed an inescutcheon containing what had previously been in the fourth quarter and this shield was ensigned by the Electoral bonnet.( image below ). When Hanover became a kingdom this bonnet was replaced by the Royal Crown that we see today.
In 1714 the House of Hanover , in the person of George I, succeeded to the throne. He did not follow continental practice but introduced an abbreviated version of his Arms as Elector of Hanover onto the fourth quarter of the Royal Coat of Arms. This quarter contained not only the arms of Brunswick, Lüneburg and Hanover, but also an inescutcheon ( smaller shield within the arms) to represent the office of Arch-Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire. On the Union with Ireland, on January 1st 1801, the opportunity was taken to remove the Arms of France, which had for so long represented an empty claim which was no longer even possible following the French Revolution and subsequent extinction of the Monarchy. The Arms were once more remarshalled to show England in the first quarter, Scotland in the second, Ireland in the third with England once again in the fourth, overall was placed an inescutcheon containing what had previously been in the fourth quarter and this shield was ensigned by the Electoral bonnet.( image below ). When Hanover became a kingdom this bonnet was replaced by the Royal Crown that we see today.
BRITISH ROYAL COAT OF ARMS 1801
