Upon the Royal helm the crown of Scotland Proper, thereon a lion sejant affronté Gules armed and langued Azure, Royally crowned Proper holding in his dexter paw a sword and in his sinister a sceptre, both Proper
Since its first appearance on the helmet of Robert II c. 1371, a Lion Gules has been the Crest of the Scottish Kings. On his Great Seal it is statant guardant, but the Armorial de Gelre c. 1386 shows it as a Lion sejant crowned and with a Sword in its right Paw. Even up to the death of James V in 1542, Scottish Kings were all represented on the equestrian sides of their Great Seals bearing a Crest of a Lion statant or statant guardant. On the Garter Stall Plate of James V the Crest is as follows:
Out of an open Crown or, a Lion passant gules, holding in the dexter Paw a Sword proper Hilt or.
The observant of you will also notice that both the Lion on the Shield and that in the Crest are facing the wrong way...
(Statant means standing with all four feet on the ground. Sejant means sitting. Guardant means the animal is looking out at the viewer, against the direction of the rest of the body.)
The Scottish Crest, amongst others, was confirmed by The Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland which was established in 1672 by King Charles II. The Register was created by Act of the Scottish Parliament and is held at the Court of the Lord Lyon, containing every Grant of Arms by Lord Lyon King of Arms since that date, as well as older Coats of Arms that the owners have chosen to register.
The heraldic Crown represents Scotland's real Royal Crown which forms part of the Honours of Scotland. This final pattern is believed to have been made for King James V and is composed of Fleur-de-Lys and Crosses Fleury, dressed mainly with pearls and some gemstones. The arches, preserved from the previous version, are narrow and relatively plain. They are surmounted by a gold Monde enamelled blue with stars representing the night sky, on top of which is a cross decorated with black enamel, pearls and a large amethyst. The distinctive aspect of the Crown is the four gold studs with pearls arranged between the arches and attached to the velvet Cap.
The Sceptre and Sword of State also come from the Honours of Scotland, but are represented in the Crest, as is the Crown, by simplistic, representative designs.