The Arms of the House of Hanover after 1837.
Posted: 04 Jun 2020, 11:55
Ernest Augustus, the fifth son of King George III of Britain (and Hanover), was granted the following arms as a British Prince when he was created Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale and Earl of Armagh in 1799 (altered in 1800 along with the arms of his father the King and his siblings):
-that is, the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, without the inescutcheon Gules with the Crown of Charlemagne and without the Crown above the other inescutcheon, and with a label of three points Argent, the outer two points each charged with a cross Gules, and the inner a fleur-de-lys Azure.
In 1837, Ernest Augustus succeeded his brother William IV in the Kingdom of Hanover, becoming King Ernst August I. As token of the fact he was heir presumptive to the British throne he apparently adopted a plain label of three points Argent and moved the Crown of Hanover from the inescutcheon in the arms to become the crest on the helmet, and charged the central inescutcheon with the further inescutcheon Gules charged with the Crown of Charlemagne, as heir male of George III. His motto was also changed to 'suscipere et finire' meaning '
to undertake and accomplish':
After 1848, the plain label Argent was no longer used in Hanover, the King's Hanoverian arms becoming thus:
King Ernst August I had founded in 1839 the Order of St. George, and it is this order and the Royal Guelphic Order which feature in these arms. The motto of the Order of St. George was 'nunquam retrorsum' meaning 'never backwards'.
The King continued to use his British arms as Duke of Cumberland.
Note that after 1837, there actually was a physical crown that was used by the Kings of Hanover, although it was not actually worn.
-that is, the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom, without the inescutcheon Gules with the Crown of Charlemagne and without the Crown above the other inescutcheon, and with a label of three points Argent, the outer two points each charged with a cross Gules, and the inner a fleur-de-lys Azure.
In 1837, Ernest Augustus succeeded his brother William IV in the Kingdom of Hanover, becoming King Ernst August I. As token of the fact he was heir presumptive to the British throne he apparently adopted a plain label of three points Argent and moved the Crown of Hanover from the inescutcheon in the arms to become the crest on the helmet, and charged the central inescutcheon with the further inescutcheon Gules charged with the Crown of Charlemagne, as heir male of George III. His motto was also changed to 'suscipere et finire' meaning '
to undertake and accomplish':
After 1848, the plain label Argent was no longer used in Hanover, the King's Hanoverian arms becoming thus:
King Ernst August I had founded in 1839 the Order of St. George, and it is this order and the Royal Guelphic Order which feature in these arms. The motto of the Order of St. George was 'nunquam retrorsum' meaning 'never backwards'.
The King continued to use his British arms as Duke of Cumberland.
Note that after 1837, there actually was a physical crown that was used by the Kings of Hanover, although it was not actually worn.