Aquiring Arms from a Different Country?

 
j.carrasco
 
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j.carrasco
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09 November 2011 18:53
 

I have a feeling that this has been posted somewhere but I can’t seem to find an answer so I thought I’d ask.  If there is an answer in another thread I apologize.

Once we assume and register arms in America, what would happen if we moved to another country and somehow got arms from there.  i.e. What if I suddenly moved to England, discovered the cure for cancer, was knighted, and then the Queen decided to bestow arms to me?  Would that even be possible?  If so, would I get an entirely new set of Arms granted to me?  Would they just take my existing arms and record them in England?  Would my arms be impaled with a new set?

 
cachambers007
 
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cachambers007
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09 November 2011 19:34
 

I recall a fairly long thread on the history of Dr. Drakes arms. He had multiple grants over the years in multiple jurisdictions. Although I recall them all being quite similar, the grants from the College of Arms and Lord Lyon weren’t identical.

In your hypothetical case the College of Arms might decide to grant you identical arms to your current assumed arms, or might well decide to give you something completely different.

 

It might get even more confused if during the process of Knighting you they also traced your family tree and decided that you had rights to ancestral arms.

 
Joseph McMillan
 
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Joseph McMillan
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09 November 2011 19:47
 

j.carrasco;89795 wrote:

I have a feeling that this has been posted somewhere but I can’t seem to find an answer so I thought I’d ask. If there is an answer in another thread I apologize.

Once we assume and register arms in America, what would happen if we moved to another country and somehow got arms from there. i.e. What if I suddenly moved to England, discovered the cure for cancer, was knighted, and then the Queen decided to bestow arms to me? Would that even be possible? If so, would I get an entirely new set of Arms granted to me? Would they just take my existing arms and record them in England? Would my arms be impaled with a new set?


In addition to Chris’s answer, it doesn’t happen quite this way. You might well be knighted for discovering a cure for cancer, but a coat of arms doesn’t come with it. You’d still have to petition for arms and pay the fees like anyone else. These days I think the heralds would tend to be accommodating about your design.  They wouldn’t record your assumed arms, but they might grant you the same arms anew.  In the past there were kings of arms who would make a change in someone’s previously assumed arms just to make a point.

 
liongam
 
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liongam
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10 November 2011 03:30
 

Dear Jesse,

As Joseph mentioned the Kings of Arms in London through the agent (ie: the officer at the College handling a particular grant case) are generally open to suggestions in respect of the design of new arms.  The only criterion being is that the arms must be unique.  The heralds will often suggest tweaking a particular design/idea brought to them by a prospective grantee from either the perspective of good heraldry or from the viewpoint of aesthetics but otherwise as I say they are quite conducive to the would be grantee’s suggestions/wishes.

 

John

 
j.carrasco
 
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j.carrasco
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10 November 2011 13:34
 

Thanks for the info everyone.  That all makes sense.  It was something that was always in the back of my mind and i was just curious about.