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Kensington Palace reveals new coat of arms for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Meghan worked on the design herself with the palace's College of Arms.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends a garden party at Buckingham Palace, on May 22.Dominic Lipinski / Pool via Reuters
/ Source: TODAY

The former Meghan Markle — now known as Her Royal Highness Meghan, Duchess of Sussex — not only has a new title since marrying Prince Harry, she has a coat of arms, too.

Kensington Palace revealed it to the public on Friday, but the design came as no surprise to Meghan herself.

After all, she had hand in creating it.

According to the official website for the British royal family, Duchess Meghan "worked closely" with the College of Arms — the official authority for all things heraldry — to create an image that is "both personal and representative."

And if you're wondering how the colorful assortment of elements represents her, we've got all the details.

  • The supporters: The lion to the left of the design represents her new husband and, along with the other imagery on that side, is featured on his own coat of arms as well. As for the songbird, that represents Meghan herself.
  • The coronet: The crown at the top center of the image is a traditional feature "laid down by a Royal Warrant of 1917 for the sons and daughters of the Heir Apparent."
  • The rays of sunshine: Long before Meghan became Britain's newest royal, she called California home. The beams that shine down the right side of the shield honor that fact.
  • The blue background of the shield: This shade is meant to stand for the water off the coast of her home state, the Pacific Ocean.
  • The feathers: The quills that break between the sunlight represent "communication and the power of words," which happens to be a strong suit of the former actress.
  • The flowers: The flora at the base of it all is the joining together of Meghan's old life and new life, with the California state flower, the golden poppy, growing alongside a common Kensington Gardens bloom, wintersweet.

According to Thomas Woodcock, the garter king of arms, "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."

The queen apparently agreed, giving Meghan's new coat of arms the royal thumbs up. But this may not be the only coat of arms associated with her.

Often royal couples are granted a conjugal coat of arms in addition to their individual ones, as was presented to Prince William and wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge back in 2013.