Excerpt from The Handy Home Book: An Encyclopedia of Useful Information Compiled From the Columns of the Family Herald and Weekly Star, Montreal, Canada The royal escutcheon of Great Britain and Ireland assumed its present arrangement at the accession of Queen Victoria. The sup porters oi the shield borne in early times by the kings of England varied much. James I. For the first time clearly defined the royal supporters, adopting the lion of England and the unicorn of Scot land as they have ever since been borne. The royal arms, described without the use of the technical terms of heraldry, consist of the quartered shield, the first and fourth quarters containing the three lions (or leopards) of England; the second quarter, the lion ram pant of Scotland; and the third quarter, the harp of Ireland, the whole shield being surrounded by the garter. Above is the crest, consisting of the royal helmet upon which rests the imperial crown surmounted by a crowned lion. The supporters are the lion on the right and the unicorn on the left. Below the shield is the motto, Dieu et mou Droit, with the union rose, shamrock and thistle engrafted on one stem. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.