OUR ANCESTORS’ GRAND DESIGNS
To commemorate the recent royal wedding, the College of Arms in London granted Meghan Markle a coat of arms in honour of her new status as a duchess. It was full of symbolism, with the colour blue representing the Pacific Ocean, rays to symbolise sunshine, and three quills to symbolise the power of communication. On either side of the shield depicting this are found a songbird to represent the duchess, and a lion to represent her husband’s lineage. It was a flamboyant ceremonial gesture in an era where such items have perhaps long passed any serious functional use.