Why is the British Royal Family’s motto Dieu et Mon Droit – and what does it mean?
The UK’s coat of arms is a symbol that most British people will recognise, adorning everything from passports to public buildings. But the eagle-eyed – at least those living outside of Scotland, where a different version is used – may well have been baffled by the words adorning it
The United Kingdom’s coat of arms depicts a rampant lion and unicorn flanking a colourful escutcheon (shield) emblazoned with the heraldry of the British and Irish nations, as well as two mottoes.
Yet these words are not English, or even Latin, but French. The two mottoes are Dieu et mon droit and Honi soit qui mal y pense.
Why is the British monarchy's motto Dieu et mon droit?
In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy prevailed over the Anglo-Saxons at the battle of Hastings, becoming England’s anointed monarch at his coronation on Christmas Day of that year, before proceeding to conquer the rest of the realm.
Unsurprisingly, England’s new elite communicated in their native Norman French and their connection to territory across the English Channel endured.
In 1198, at the battle of Gisors, Richard I the Lionheart of England used Dieu et mon droit (‘God and my right’) as a battle cry to assert his personal, divine-sanctioned claim to France.
Centuries later, Henry V formally adopted the motto, again staking claim to the French throne.
Has Dieu et Mon Droit always been a royal motto?
No, Over the centuries, different monarchs have used different mottoes and coats of arms. Notable examples include queens Elizabeth I and Anne, who both used Semper Eadem – ‘Always the same’.
What does Honi soit qui mal y pense mean – and what does it have to do with the Order of the Garter?
Meanwhile, the words Honi soit qui mal y pense translate to ‘Shame on anyone who thinks evil of it’. Emblazoned on the blue garter that encircles the escutcheon, it is the motto of England’s noblest order of chivalry: the Order of the Garter. Founded by Edward III in the mid-14th century, its origins are disputed.
Edward’s claim to France led to the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War. One apocryphal story holds that during a ball in Calais to celebrate England’s victory at the battle of Crécy, the king’s daughter-in-law Joan, the Countness of Salisbury, misplaced her garter while the two danced, prompting revellers to sneer.
The king retrieved the garter and fastened it around his own leg before chiding her tormenters with the words that would become the order’s maxim. But it was more likely intended as a challenge to those who doubted Edward’s birth right to the French throne.
Does the British monarchy still claim the French crown?
The French monarchy was abolished in 1792 with the French Revolution (though it would be revived several times until its definitive abolition in 1870). George III would be the last British monarch to be crowned as ‘King of Great Britain, France and Ireland’ in 1761.
The British Crown relinquished its claim to France with the signing of the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Nevertheless, the monarchy continues to use both of its French mottoes to this day.
What motto is used in Scotland?
Prior to the Acts of Union in 1707, Nemo me impune lacessit (‘No one provokes me with impunity’) was used as both the motto of the Order of the Thistle and the Scottish Crown.
The motto continues to be used by the British monarch when in Scotland.
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