Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Denmark

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Denmark
Greater (Royal) version
Versions
Middle version
Lesser (State) version
Details
Armiger	Margrethe II Queen of Denmark
Adopted	First documented in the 1190s. Modified 1819. Designed 1819. Designated as dynastic arms 1959. Last modified 5 July 1972
Crest	Crown of King Christian V
Torse	tasseled strings Or
Escutcheon	A shield quartered by a cross Argent fimbriated Gules, first and fourth quarter Or, three lions passant in pale Azure crowned and armed Or langued Gules, nine lilypads Gules (for Denmark); second quarter Or, two lions passant in pale Azure armed Or langued Gules (for Schleswig); third quarter Azure, party per fess, in base per pale; in chief three crowns Or (for the Kalmar Union), in dexter base a ram passant Argent armed and unguled Or (for the Faroe Islands), in sinister base a polar bear rampant Argent (for Greenland). Overall an escutcheon Or two bars Gules (for Oldenburg)
Supporters	two wild men armed with clubs Proper
Compartment	pedestal
Motto	Latin: Magnanimi Pretium
Orders	Order of the Dannebrog, and Order of the Elephant
Other elements	The monarch places this coat of arms on a mantle gules lined with Ermine. Above the mantle is a pavilion gules again topped with the royal crown.
Earlier versions	24 August 1815

The national coat of arms of Denmark consists of three pale blue lions passant wearing crowns, accompanied by nine red lilypads (normally represented as heraldic hearts), all in a golden shield. It is historically the coat of arms of the House of Estridsen, the dynasty which provided the Kings of Denmark between 1047 and 1412. The current design was introduced in 1819, under Frederick VI. Previously, there had been no distinction between the "national" and the "royal" coat of arms. Since 1819, there has been a more complex royal coat of arms of Denmark (kongevåben) separate from the national coat of arms (rigsvåben).

The oldest known depiction of the insignia dates from a seal used by King Canute VI c. 1194. The oldest documentation for the colours dates from c. 1270.

Historically, the lions faced the viewer and the number of hearts was not regulated and could be much higher. The "heart" shapes originally represented waterlily pads; a royal decree of 1972 still specifies these figures as søblade ("lake leaves").

The current design was adopted in 1819 during the reign of King Frederick VI who fixed the number of hearts to nine and decreed that the heraldic beasts were lions, consequently facing forward. A rare version exists from the reign of king Eric of Pomerania in which the three lions jointly hold the Danish banner, in a similar fashion as in the coat of arms of the former South Jutland County. Until c. 1960, Denmark used both a "small" and a "large" coat of arms, similar to the system still used in Sweden. The latter symbol held wide use within the government administration, e.g., by the Foreign Ministry. Since this time, the latter symbol has been classified as the coat of arms of the royal family, leaving Denmark with only one national coat of arms, used for all official purposes.