During the reigns of the Tudor monarchs, the Red Dragon was used as a supporter in the English Crown's coat of arms. (Henry Tudor flew the red dragon of Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon as his banner, overlaid on a green and white field representing the Tudor House, when he marched through Wales on his way to Bosworth Field to defeat King Richard III.)
The Red Dragon is often seen as symbolising all things Welsh, and is used by many public and private institutions. These include the Welsh Government, Visit Wales, and numerous local authorities.
Within a circular riband Argent fimbriated Or bearing the motto Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN ["the red dragon inspires action"], in letters Vert, and ensigned with a representation of the Crown proper, an escutcheon per fesse Argent and Vert and thereon the Red Dragon passant. (The London Gazette, 13 March, 1953)
In 1956 this badge was added to the arms of the Welsh capital city Cardiff by placing it on collars around the necks of the two supporters of the shield. The badge was the basis of a flag of Wales in which it was placed on a background divided horizontally with the top half white and bottom half green. In 1959 Government use of this flag was dropped in favour of the current flag (simply the red Dragon itself on the white and green background) at the urging of the Gorsedd of Bards.
The badge was used by the Welsh Office and its successor the Wales Office until January 2017 and was used in the interim logo of the National Assembly for Wales until the adoption of a "dynamic dragon" logo.
Within a circular riband Vert fimbriated Or bearing the motto "Pleidiol Wyf I'm Gwlad" in letters the same and ensigned with a representation of the Crown proper, an escutcheon quarterly Or and Gules four lions passant guardant counterchanged armed and langued Azure, encircled by a wreath alternating of leek, thistle, clover, leek and rose.
Please do not ask me why, when Wales is a principality, the Crown used should be the Royal Crown and not a princely one, nor why the floral symbols of England, Scotland and Ireland should have been included in this new design...
Badges of the Prince of Wales, Duke of Cormwall
The Prince of Wales's Feathers is the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales. It consists of three white Ostrich Feathers emerging from a gold Coronet. A Ribbon below the coronet bears the motto "Ich dien" which is, in fact German for, "I serve" and not Welsh at all. As well as being used in royal heraldry and probably the most recognisable symbol of the UK Heir to the Throne, the badge is sometimes used to symbolise Wales, although the badge has no connection with the native Princes of Wales or the country. Its use is generally traced back to Edward, the Black Prince (1330–1376), eldest son and Heir Apparent of King Edward III of England. The Black Prince bore (as an alternative to his royal arms, those of his Father differenced by a Label of three Points argent) a shield of Sable, three Ostrich Feathers argent, described as his "shield for peace", probably meaning the shield he used for jousting. |
According to a longstanding legend, the Black Prince obtained the Badge from the blind King John of Bohemia, against whom he fought at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. After the battle, the Prince is said to have gone to the body of the dead king, and taken his Helmet with its Ostrich Feather Crest. The story first appears in writing in 1376, the year of the Black Prince's death. There is, however, no sound historical basis for it and no evidence for King John having used either the crest (he actually bore a crest of vultures' wings) or the motto.
Since a key factor in the English army's victory at Crécy was the use of Welsh archersThe mediaeval German motto "Ich dien" ("I serve") is a near-homophone for the Welsh phrase "Eich Dyn" meaning "Your Man", which might have helped endear the young Black Prince to the Welsh soldiers in particular. Again, however, there is no historical evidence to support this theory. In 1917, during the First World War, it was rumoured that the motto might be formally changed to "Eich Dyn" to avoid the use of German.
The first Prince of Wales to use the Badge in its modern form (i.e. three white Feathers encircled by a Coronet, and with the Motto “Ich dien”) was Prince Arthur (1486–1502), eldest son of Henry VII, at the beginning of the 16th century. It was also widely used by Prince Edward, son of Henry VIII and afterwards Edward VI, although he was never formally invested as Prince of Wales. Feathers continued to be used as lesser royal badges, by Elizabeth I among others, until the end of the century.
Only from the beginning of the 17th century did the Badge become exclusively associated with the Prince of Wales. It has been a part of the Coat of Arms of the Prince of Wales since at least 1901 and is widely used by the present Prince of Wales, Prince Charles. It used to feature on the UK 2 Pence coin.
On 10 December 1901 a warrant signed by King Edward VII approved the addition of a Badge of the Red Dragon to the Coat of Arms of the Prince of Wales. The proclamation specified "on the sinister side a representation of the Badge of Wales, namely, on a mount vert a Dragon, passant gules, differenced (as in the Crest) with a Label of three Points argent." This was to complement the Feathers badge, which was to be depicted on the dexter side of the prince's Achievement. However, this Badge is not as popular or used as much as the Feathers. |