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Dieu et mon droit


Dieu et mon droit (French pronunciation: ​[djø e mɔ̃ dʁwa]), meaning God and my right or literally (My divine right) is the motto of the Monarch of the United Kingdom outside Scotland. It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the version of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom used outside Scotland. The motto is said to have first been used by Richard I (1157–1199) as a battle cry and presumed to be a reference to the divine right of the Monarch to govern. It was adopted as the royal motto of England by King Henry V (1386–1422) with the phrase "and my right" referring to his claim to the French crown.

The motto is French for literally "God and my right", meaning that the king is "Rex Angliae Dei gratia": King of England by the grace of God. It is used to imply that the monarch of a nation has a God-given (divine) right to rule.

For the Royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of England to have a French rather than English motto was not unusual, given that Norman French was the primary language of the English Royal Court and ruling class following the rule of William the Conqueror of Normandy and later the Plantagenets. Another Old French phrase also appears in the full achievement of the Royal Arms. The motto of the Order of the Garter, Honi soit qui mal y pense ("Spurned be the one who evil thinks"), appears on a representation of a behind the shield. Modern French spelling has changed honi to honni, but the motto has not been updated.


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