History and Origin of The Coat of Arms
This version of the coat of arms is in use since 1907 but differs only slightly from the version that was adopted in 1815. From 1815 until 1907 all the lions wore the royal crown and the supporting lions where facing.
The royal arms were adopted by the first king of The Kingdom of the Netherlands, William I, when he became king after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. As king, he adopted a coat of arms that combined elements of his family’s (Orange-Nassau) coat of arms and that of the former Dutch Republic that existed from 1581 until 1795.
From his family arms he used the azure, billety Or with a lion Or of Nassau (blue shield, lion, billets). The "Je Maintiendrai" motto represents the Orange family since it came into the family with the princedom of Orange as "Je Maintiendrai Châlons". These elements are also found in the arms of king William III, who was also king of England (1689–1702). From the arms of the former States General of the Republic of the United Provinces he took the lion with a coronet, sword and arrows. The arrows symbolize the seven provinces that made up the Republic, the sword the determination to defend their liberty, and the coronet their soveriegnty. William replaced the coronet with a royal crown. In 1907, Queen Wilhelmina returned to an open coronet.
Read more about this topic: Coat Of Arms Of The Netherlands
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