Meghan Markle has been honoured by a coat of arms as the
Duchess of Sussex after she was welcomed into the Royal Family following her wedding to
Prince Harry.
Meghan's Coat of Arms features a songbird symbolising the "power of communication" and it has been joined with Prince Harry's royal lion Coat of Arms, as is protocol for royal wives.
The Queen bestowed the title of
Duke of Sussex on the Harry before the
Royal Wedding and Meghan became the Duchess of Sussex when she married the Prince in a historic and romanic ceremony last Saturday.
Meghan's Coat of Arms was also approved by the Queen before it was unveiled today by Kensington Palace.
The Arms features nods to her home state of California as well as her new life as a member of the Royal Family.
The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean while two golden rays symbolise the famous Californian sunshine.
Beneath the shield on the grass also sits a collection of golden poppies which are California's state flower.
Meghan's Coat of Arms also incorporates her new life in the Royal Family with wintersweet flowers, which grow at Kensington Palace.
They feature alongside the golden poppies and a Coronet has also been assigned to the Duchess of Sussex, which sits above the shield.
The Coronet bestowed on the new Duchess was laid down by a Royal Warrant of 1917 for the sons and daughters of the Heir Apparent.
It is composed of two crosses patée, four fleurs-de-lys and two strawberry leaves.
Meghan's Coat of Arms have been joined – or "impaled" as its is technically known as – with Harry's.
Harry was granted his own Coat of Arms, which incorporates the Royal Arms, on his 18th birthday aand it features a nod to his late mother Princess Diana's coat of arms with a small, red escallop appearing three times on the white collar around the lion and in in the shield.
Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, who worked closely with Meghan on the design of her Coat of Arms said: "The Duchess of Sussex took a great interest in the design.
“Good heraldic design is nearly always simple and the Arms of The Duchess of Sussex stand well beside the historic beauty of the quartered British Royal Arms.
“Heraldry as a means of identification has flourished in Europe for almost nine hundred years and is associated with both individual people and great corporate bodies such as Cities, Universities and for instance the Livery Companies in the City of London. "
The Middleton family was also honoured with a Coat of Arms before Kate married Prince Wiliam in 2011.
It is understood since Kate’s siblings and parents are British citizens they entitled to use the Middleton Coat of Arms, while Meghan's American heritage means the same honour has not been bestowed on her family, according to royal tradition.
Royal tradition also dictates Kate’s brother James will be able to pass down the Middleton Coat of Arms to his children but her sister Pippa, as a woman, will only be able to use it during her lifetime and cannot pass it on.
Kensington Palace statement said: “A Coat of Arms has been created for The Duchess of Sussex. The design of the Arms was agreed and approved by Her Majesty The Queen and Mr Thomas Woodcock (Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England), who is based at the College of Arms in London.
“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.
"It is customary for Supporters of the shield to be assigned to Members of the Royal Family, and for wives of Members of the Royal Family to have one of their husband’s Supporters 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 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 attended her first official engagement as a member of the Royal Family with Prince Harry on Tuesday – just three days after their spectacular Royal Wedding.
The newlyweds put their honeymoon on hold to join Harry's Prince Charles and Camilla for an early birthday celebration for the Prince of Wales.
The Prince of Wales’ 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration was hosted by the Queen in the gardens of Buckingham Palace as honoured Charles's commitment to more than 400 charities and organisations.
Meghan wore an understated pale pink dress by British fashion label Goat and matching-coloured hat by Philip Treacy for the occasion, a contrast to the grandeur of her Royal Wedding on Saturday.
During the elaborate Harry praised Prince Charles’s “selfless drive to affect change” in a heartfelt speech.
At Saturday’s Prince Charles accompanied Meghan down the aisle at the Royal Wedding after her own father Thomas Markle pulled out at the last minute.
Mr Markle is understood to be recovering from heart surgery after he suffered a heart attack before his daughter’s wedding.
At Saturday’s wedding, Meghan enter St George’s Chapel, in Windsor Castle alone before she was joined by her father-in-law Charles.
Meghan stunned fans in a gorgeous white wedding dress created by Givenchy's Clare Waight Keller.
As Harry greeted his bride at the alter he thanked his "pa" before telling his bride: "You look amazing – I missed you."