Cadency labels of the British royal family

Heraldic labels are used to differentiate the personal coats of arms of members of the royal family of the United Kingdom from that of the monarch and from each other. In the Gallo-British heraldic tradition, cadency marks have been available to "difference" the arms of a son from those of his father, and the arms of brothers from each other, and traditionally this was often done when it was considered important for each man to have a distinctive individual coat of arms and/or to differentiate the arms of the head of a house from junior members of the family. This was especially important in the case of arms of sovereignty: to use the undifferenced arms of a kingdom is to assert a claim to the throne. Therefore, in the English royal family, cadency marks were used from the time of Henry III, typically a label or bordure alluding to the arms of the bearer's mother or wife. After about 1340, when Edward III made a claim to the throne of France, a blue label did not contrast sufficiently with the blue field of the French quarter of the royal arms; accordingly most royal cadets used labels argent: that of the heir apparent was plain, and all others were charged.[1] Bordures of various tinctures continued to be used into the 15th century.

 Label and charges


  
   

   

The label

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In the ordinary system of differences a label of three points (which has also been termed a label with three files) is the distinction of the eldest son during the lifetime of his father. In the oldest rolls of arms the labels are all of five points; but labels of three points were at an early period used interchangeably. Besides being used as mere temporary marks of cadency, labels are also employed as permanent distinctions, borne (like any other charge) by every member of some particular branches of certain families. Labels are the principal cadency marks used in certain royal families. In the British royal family, all labels are argent (white). The sons and daughters of the sovereign all bear labels of three points argent; that of the arms of the Prince of Wales is plain, but all others are charged. Further descendants of princes bear labels of five points charged. All such differences should be borne on the arms, crest, and supporters.

Charges

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Red Cross
 

Rose
 

Heart
 
Fleur-de-lis
blue
 

Anchor
 

Thistle
 

Trefoil
 

Red Lion
 

Ermine
 

Crown
 

Escalope
 

Bee
 

Roundel

The system of a special mark for difference for each member of the family goes back to the time of Henry III, whose successor, as a prince, placed such a mark on the shield of England. Since 1340 this label has almost always been white, and overlaid with small figures, or charges, such as red crosses of St George.[2] This red cross represents England and its patron saint, and was first borne by Richard of Bordeaux (future king Richard II) before the death of his father Edward, the Black Prince in 1376. Other charges used:

Labels used since the Hanoverian succession

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King George I to Queen Victoria
Name Title Royal Warrant  Label argent[2][3]
 
Notes
King George I
(1660–1727)
Electoral Prince of Hanover
British King from 1714.
As George was never a cadet member of the British royal family, he never had such a label.
Ernest
(1674–1728)
Duke of York and Albany, Earl of Ulster 1716  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Brother of George I.
Bishop of Osnabrück.
George
(1683–1760)
Prince of Wales 1714 Future King George II.
Frederick
(1701–1751)
Duke of Gloucester 1718,
Duke of Edinburgh 1726
 
Prince of Wales 1729
Anne
(1705–1759)
Princess Royal 1719           2nd child, eldest daughter of George II.
Princess of Orange-Nassau.
1727      
Amelia
(1711–1786)
1719          
1727      
Caroline (1713–1757) 1719                              
1727  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
William
(1721–1765)
1725          
Duke of Cumberland
1726
1727  
Mary
(1723–1772)
1727      
Louise
(1724–1751)
1727  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Queen of Denmark and Norway
Augusta
(1737–1813)
1813           Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
George (1738–1830) 2nd Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales 1751 Future king George III
Edward
(1739–1767)
Duke of York and Albany 1760 1752          
William (father)
(1743–1805)
Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh 1764          
Henry (1745–1790) Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn 1766          
Frederick
(1750–1765)
Posthumous          
George
(1762–1830)
Prince of Wales 1762 Future King George IV
Frederick
(1763–1827)
Duke of York and Albany 1784  
William
(1765–1837)
Duke of Clarence and St Andrews 1789 1781       Future King William IV
Charlotte
(1766–1828)
Princess Royal       Queen of Württemberg
Edward
(1767–1820)
Duke of Kent and Strathearn 1799       Father of Queen Victoria
Augusta Sophia
(1768–1840)
1789      
Elizabeth
(1770–1840)
1789       Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg
Ernest Augustus
(1771–1851)
Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale 1799       King of Hanover 1837
Augustus Frederick
(1773–1843)
Duke of Sussex 1801    
 
 
Adolphus
(1774–1850)
Duke of Cambridge 1801  
 
   
 
Mary
(1776–1857)
1789       Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Sophia
(1777–1848)
1789      
Amelia
(1783–1810)
1789      
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(1790–1865)
as consort of Princess Charlotte of Wales   Later first King of the Belgians
Charlotte of Wales
(1796–1817)
1816  
Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II
Alexandrina Victoria of Kent (1819–1901) No known arms were assigned to her as Princess. Future Queen Victoria
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861) Prince Consort 1837   Husband of Queen Victoria. Quartered these arms with his paternal arms of Saxony.
Victoria
(1840–1901)
Princess Royal 1841       German Empress
Albert Edward
(1841–1910)
Prince of Wales 1841 Future King Edward VII (1901)
Alice
(1843–1878)
1858       Grand Duchess of Hesse.
Alfred
(1844–1900)
Duke of Edinburgh ?       Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Helena
(1846–1923)
1858       Princess of Schleswig-Holstein.
Louise
(1848–1939)
1858       Duchess of Argyll
Arthur
(1850–1942)
Duke of Connaught
and Strathearn
1874      
Leopold
(1853–1884)
Duke of Albany 1881 1856      
Beatrice
(1857–1944)
1858       Princess of Battenberg.
Albert Victor
(1864–1892)
Duke of Clarence and Avondale 1890   The firstborn son of Edward Prince of Wales, died in 1892.
George
(1865–1936)
Duke of York 1892   Future King George V (1910)
Prince of Wales 1901
Louise
(1867–1931)
Princess Royal 1905 1889           Duchess of Fife
Victoria
(1868–1935)
1896          
Maud of Wales
(1869–1938)
1896           Queen of Norway
Alfred of Edinburgh
(1874–1899)
?           Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Marie of Edinburgh
(1875–1938)
?           Queen of Romania
Victoria Melita of Edinburgh
(1876–1936)
?           Grand-duchess of Hesse, later Grand-duchess of Russia
Alexandra of Edinburgh
(1878–1942)
?           Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Margaret of Connaught
(1882–1920)
1905           Crown princess of Sweden
Arthur of Connaught
(1883–1938)
1904          
Alice of Albany
(1883–1981)
1934           Countess of Athlone
Beatrice of Edinburgh
(1884–1966)
?           Duchess of Galliera
Charles Edward of Albany
(1884–1954)
2nd Duke of Albany none Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Deprived of his British titles 1919. Never granted arms in right of the United Kingdom, but used the arms of Dominion of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as was his right as its sovereign.
Patricia of Connaught
(1886–1974)
1919           Lady Patricia Ramsay
Edward
(1894–1972)
Prince of Wales 1911 King Edward VIII, abdicated 1936
Duke of Windsor 1937   Unique use of a Crown for an abdicated monarch.
Albert
(1895–1952)
Duke of York 1920 1912   Future King George VI (1936)
Mary
(1897–1965)
Princess Royal 1932 1921       Countess of Harewood
Henry
(1900–1974)
Duke of Gloucester 1928 1921      
George
(1902–1942)
Duke of Kent 1934 1921      
Alastair of Connaught
(1914–1943)
2nd Duke of Connaught
and Strathearn
1942 Quarterly 1 and 4 his grandfather's arms; 2 Fife; 3 Duff.
Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III
Philip
(1921–2021)
Duke of Edinburgh; Prince Consort 1947–49: his arms included an inescutcheon of his ancestor Princess Alice (Grand Duchess of Hesse): the Royal Arms with a label as shown above.[4]
Elizabeth
(1926–2022)
1944       Future queen Elizabeth II (1952)
Margaret
(1930–2002)
1944       Countess of Snowdon
Edward of Kent
(born 1935)
2nd Duke of Kent 1948          
Alexandra of Kent
(born 1936)
1961           Lady Ogilvy
William of Gloucester
(1941–1972)
1962          
Michael of Kent
(born 1942)
1962          
Richard of Gloucester
(born 1944)
2nd Duke of Gloucester 1962          
Charles
(born 1948)
Prince of Wales 1958 Future king Charles III (2022)
Duke of Rothesay 1974
Anne
(born 1950)
Princess Royal 1962       Formerly Mrs Mark Phillips
Andrew
(born 1960)
Duke of York 1962/63  
Edward
(born 1964)
1983  
William
(born 1982)
Duke of Cambridge 2000   The escallop is taken from the arms of his mother Diana Spencer (1961–1997).
Prince of Wales 2022 Succeeded his father to these titles in 2022.
Duke of Rothesay 2022
Harry
(born 1984)
Duke of Sussex 2002       The escallop is taken from the arms of his mother Diana Spencer (1961–1997).
Became a child of the Sovereign 2022       Changed to a three-point argent, each point charged with an escallop.
Beatrice of York
(born 1988)
2006       Bee from the arms of her mother. The three bees are a canting of her first name.
Eugenie of York
(born 1990)
2008       Thistles from the arms of her mother.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ A Complete Guide to Heraldry by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies (1909), p. 494. (Online texts at https://archive.org/details/completeguidetoh00foxduoft or http://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~bprince/hr/foxdavies/index.htm .)
  2. ^ a b Ottfried Neubecker & John Brooke-Little: Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning (1997). ISBN 0-316-64141-3. "Signs of Differencing" (pp. 96–97).
  3. ^ François Velde: Marks of Cadency in the British Royal Family. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  4. ^ Boutell (page 219).