Commonwealth Usage
In formal English the word crown is reserved for the crown of a monarch whereas the word coronet is used for all other noble crowns.
In the peerage of the United Kingdom, the design of a coronet shows the rank of its owner, as in German, French and various other heraldic traditions. The coronet of a duke has eight strawberry leaves, that of a marquess has four strawberry leaves and four silver balls (known as "pearls", but not actually pearls), that of an earl has eight strawberry leaves and eight "pearls" raised on stalks, that of a viscount has sixteen "pearls", and that of a baron has six "pearls". Since a person entitled to wear a coronet customarily displays it in their coat of arms above the shield and below the helm and crest, this can provide a useful clue as to the owner of a given coat of arms.
Members of the British Royal Family have coronets on their coats of arms, and may wear them at coronations. They are according to regulations made by King Charles II in 1661 shortly after his return from exile in France (getting a taste for its lavish court style; Louis XIV started monumental work at Versailles that year) and Restoration, and vary depending upon the prince's relationship to the Monarch. Occasionally additional royal warrants vary the designs for individuals.
In Canadian heraldry, coronets are used to designate descent from United Empire Loyalists. A military coronet signifies ancestors who served in Loyalist regiments during the American Revolution, while a civil coronet is used by all others. The loyalist coronets are used only in heraldry, never worn.
| Sovereign - St. Edward's Crown | Sovereign - Crown of Scotland | Sovereign - Imperial/Tudor Crown | Heir Apparent | ||||
| Prince or Princess - brother, sister, son or daughter of a sovereign | Prince or Princess - children of the Heir Apparent | Prince or Princess - children of other sons of the Sovereign, other princes or princesses | Prince or Princess - Children of a son of the sovereign. | ||||
| Old ducal hat | Duke | Marquess | Earl | ||||
| Viscount | Baron | Loyalists military coronet (Canadian) | Loyalists civil coronet (Canadian) |
Read more about this topic: Crown (heraldry)
Famous quotes containing the words commonwealth and/or usage:
“The commonwealth of Athens is become a forest of beasts.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Pythagoras, Locke, Socrates—but pages
Might be filled up, as vainly as before,
With the sad usage of all sorts of sages,
Who in his life-time, each was deemed a bore!
The loftiest minds outrun their tardy ages.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)