The coat of arms of
Saint Helena, part of the British Overseas Territory of
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...
, was authorised on 30 January 1984.
The arms feature a shield, with the top third showing the
national bird
This is a list of national birds, including official birds of overseas territories and other states described as nations. Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status.
National birds
See al ...
, the
Saint Helena plover (''Charadrius sanctaehelenae''), known locally as the wirebird – stylized, but with its unmistakable head pattern. The bottom two thirds depict a coastal scene of the island, a three-masted sailing ship with the mountainous island to the left. The coastal scene is taken from the colonial seal of the colony and shows the
flag of England
The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...
flying from the ship (when the shield was first introduced in 1874 the flag was a
White Ensign
The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross ...
).
The motto is ''Loyal and unshakable''. The full coat of arms features, above the shield, a woman holding a cross and a flower. This represents
Helena of Constantinople
Flavia Julia Helena ''Augusta'' (also known as Saint Helena and Helena of Constantinople, ; grc-gre, Ἑλένη, ''Helénē''; AD 246/248– c. 330) was an '' Augusta'' and Empress of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine th ...
, also known as Saint Helena, after whom the island is named. The cross is shown as Helena is credited with finding the relics of the
True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
(cross upon which
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
was crucified).
The shield of the arms features on the
flag of Saint Helena and the
Governor's flag. The
local two pound coin has the full coat of arms on its reverse.
Arms usage by dependencies
The arms were also used by
Ascension Island and
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...
when they were dependencies of Saint Helena before 2009. Tristan da Cunha was granted its
own arms in 2002 and Ascension Island was granted its
own arms in 2012.
See also
*
Coat of arms of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
**
Coat of arms of Ascension Island
The coat of arms of Ascension Island were granted in August 2012. Prior to this the island used the coat of arms of the United Kingdom for official purposes.
See also
*Flag of Ascension Island
References
External linksCollege of Arms June 201 ...
**
Coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha
The coat of arms of Tristan da Cunha was granted on 20 October 2002.
Arms
The arms consist of a shield featuring four albatrosses in a blue-and-white mirror image design. The central diamond-shaped charge is based on a charge from the arms of t ...
*
List of coats of arms of the United Kingdom and dependencies
This is a list of coats of arms of the United Kingdom, constituent parts, Crown Dependencies and its Overseas Territories.
United Kingdom
File:Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (2022).svg, Coat of arms of the United Kingdom, for use in En ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat Of Arms Of Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helenian culture
Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Helena, mother of Constantine I