Why Meghan Markle's coat of arms breaks tradition

From Cosmopolitan

Now that she's officially married to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle is getting all the special little extras that members of the royal family are entitled to. Things like, an official title - she's the Duchess of Sussex now - being called Her Royal Highness, having people curtesy to her in public and now, getting an official coat of arms made especially for her.

In a statement by Kensington Palace, Meghan's new coat of arms was unveiled, along with the meaning behind the creation.

The Palace said:

'Her Royal Highness worked closely with the College of Arms throughout the design process to create a Coat of Arms that was both personal and representative.

'The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine of The Duchess's home state. The three quills represent communication and the power of words.'

Cute, considering Meghan used to run her own lifestyle site, The Tig.

And those aren't the only cute meanings in the arms. 'Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California's state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace', the statement reads. Wintersweet was also incorporated into Meghan's wedding veil.

The Palace explains that it is customary for wives of the royal family to have one 'Supporter' relating to their husband - and one relating to themselves.

'The Supporter relating to The Duchess of Sussex is a songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak, which with the quill represents the power of communication', the Palace said.

In addition, 'the arms of a married woman are shown with those of her husband and the technical term is that they are impaled, meaning placed side by side in the same shield.'

Meghan's coat of arms is slightly different to Kate Middleton's, who married Prince William in 2011. Her father, Michael Middleton, was actually granted the coat of arms to represent his whole family before Kate married William.

In a break with tradition, Meghan Markle has been given her own coat, that doesn't reference her family in any way. Perhaps following all the drama that surrounded her father, Thomas Markle, in the lead-up to the wedding.

In the Middleton family's coat of arms, the three acorns represent the three Middleton children - Catherine, Pippa and James - and the gold is a nod to Carole Middleton's maiden name, Goldsmith. It is also thought that the red and blue colour scheme was chosen in reference to the union jack and the chevrons are meant to represent hills, to acknowledge the family's love of outdoor pursuits.

In 2013, Kate and Wills were then granted an official coat of arms for their own family, which married the two coats together.

It is likely that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will receive the same honour at some point down the line in their marriage.

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