The White Lion Society was founded in 1986 as a society to benefit the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

through donations of useful items and publications.

John Brooke-Little John Philip Brooke Brooke-Little (6 April 1927 – 13 February 2006) was an English writer on heraldic subjects, and a long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the Society of He ...

, while Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, was integral to the foundation of the Society. In 1984, at a meeting of

The Heraldry Society The Heraldry Society is a British organization that is devoted to studying and promoting heraldry and related subjects. In 1947, a twenty-year-old John Brooke-Little founded the Society of Heraldic Antiquaries. This name was changed to The He ...

, it was suggested to Brooke-Little that it would be appropriate to found a "Society of Friends" of the College of Arms. Brooke-Little explained that the late Charles Wilfrid Scott-Giles, Fitzalan Pursuivant of Arms Extraordinary, had previously suggested the same idea, giving it the notional name of The White Lion Society after the

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

supporters of the College of Arms being two white lions taken from the Earl Marshal's Mowbray Supporters. Brooke-Little put the idea before the Chapter of the College shortly after and with its approval, the Society came into being in 1986.

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White Lion Society homepageThe Heraldry Society homepageThe College of Arms
Organizations established in 1986 College of Arms {{UK-org-stub