Elizabeth Ann Roads, (née Bruce; born 1951) is a former Scottish

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

, an office from which she retired in 2021; in July 2018 she retired as Lyon Clerk at the Court of the Lord Lyon

Personal life and education

Elizabeth Roads is the daughter of Lt Col. James Bruce MC and his wife Mary Hope Sinclair. She was born in 1951 and educated at Lansdowne House in Edinburgh, the Cambridgeshire College of Technology, the Study Centre for Fine Art in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and Edinburgh Napier University (LLB with distinction). She married Christopher Roads in 1983, and they have two sons Timothy and William and a daughter Emily.

Heraldic career

Elizabeth Roads joined the staff of the Court of the Lord Lyon in 1975 and was appointed Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records in 1986 an office she held until her retirement in 2018. In this position, she maintained, among other things, the

Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland The Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, established in 1672, is an official register of Scottish coats of arms maintained by the Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records. As a public register, it can be seen by anyone on application, ...

. She was appointed Linlithgow Pursuivant in 1987, becoming the first female

Officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve a ...

in the world. This was a temporary appointment, when she represented the Lord Lyon in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the discussions that led to the establishment of the

Canadian Heraldic Authority The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA; french: Autorité héraldique du Canada) is part of the Canadian honours system under the Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for t ...

. Roads was appointed

Carrick Pursuivant Carrick Pursuivant of Arms is a Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The title is derived from the Earldom of Carrick, one of the titles borne by Robert the Bruce before his succession to the crown. The arms of the Earl ...

in 1992 and promoted to Snowdoun Herald in 2010, and retired from being an officer of arms in 2021. She was appointed Secretary of the Order of the Thistle in 2014, having been Deputy Secretary since 2008. As Elizabeth Bruce, Roads was a founder member of the

Heraldry Society of Scotland The Heraldry Society of Scotland was founded in 1977 with the aim of improving the study of heraldry. The Society's arms feature a Saint Andrew's Cross with silver thistles and a red shield. Their crest is a herald wearing a tabard of the arms, an ...

in 1977. She was Chairman of that Society in the late 1990s and is now a Fellow of the Heraldry Society of Scotland, of the Heraldry Society of New Zealand and of the Heraldry Society, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada. She is an Academician of the Academie Internationale d'Heraldique and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, honours in recognition of her heraldic expertise. She has published many articles and lectures regularly on heraldic and genealogical subjects. She is current (2022) President of the Academie Internationale d'Heraldique and a former President of the Bureau Permanent des Congres Genealogique and Heraldique. She also serves on the board of the International Commission on Orders of Chivalry and the Confederation of Genealogy and Heraldry. In addition to her heraldic interests she is Vice Chair of the Scottish Council on Archives, a Trustee of the Black Watch Museum and Dean of the 900 year old Merchant Guildry of Stirling.

Orders and Decorations

Arms

External links

The Court of the Lord LyonThe Heraldry Society of Scotland

References