Jonathan Webster wrote:As regards matriculations, can arms be matriculated in the name of minor cadets of the original armiger, or must the said cadets do so when they reach adulthood?
Matriculation is much more flexible than in Scotland. It's entirely voluntary, and the Heraldry Act doesn't stipulate any age threshold. A few of the published records give the child's date of birth, from which we can see that arms have indeed been matriculated for minor children (one of them in the year of his birth, i.e. when he can have been only a few months old).
Also; does the inheritance of arms descend to all children of the original armiger, whether legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted; or are there certain rules about who inherits the arms, or does the original armiger decide this themselves when they register their arms?
I don't know what the position is regarding illegitimate children, but generally arms descend to all children, including those who have been legally adopted. If they are matriculated at the Bureau, the younger children's arms must be differenced.
Section 7 of the Heraldry Act provides for the following :
* the armiger may arrange for his arms to be re-registered, after his death, "in the name of any of his descendants, or in the name of any other person who bears the same family name";
* a descendant, including an adopted child bearing the same family name, may apply for re-registration of the arms in his/her name.
I suppose that the phrases "any of his descendants" or "any other person who bears the same family name" could be interpreted to include an illegitimate child.