Coat of arms of the Netherlands

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally adopted in 1815 and later modified in 1907. The arms are a composite of the arms of the former Dutch Republic and the arms of the House of Nassau; it features a shield strewn with small rectangles and, as its main element, a lion grasping a sword in one hand and a bundle of arrows in the other and is the arms of dominion and heraldic symbol of the monarch (King Willem-Alexander) and the country. The monarch uses a version of the arms with a mantle (Dutch: Koninklijk wapen), while the government of the Netherlands uses a smaller version without the mantle (cloak) or the pavilion; sometimes only the shield and crown are used (Dutch: Rijkswapen). The components of the coats of arms were regulated by Queen Wilhelmina in a royal decree of 10 July 1907, affirmed by Queen Juliana in a royal decree of 23 April 1980.