Coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
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Greater (Royal) version
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Versions | |
Middle (State) version
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Lesser version
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Details | |
Armiger | Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands |
Adopted | 10 July 1907 23 April 1980 |
Crest | Dutch royal Crown |
Escutcheon | Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or |
Supporters | Two lions rampant Or armed and langued Gules |
Motto | French: Je Maintiendrai |
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 | August 24, 1815 |
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 checkered shield with a lion grasping a sword in one hand and a bundle of arrows in the other and is the heraldic symbol of the monarch (currently 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 even only the shield and crown are used (Dutch: Rijkswapen). The current 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.
The blazon is as follows:
Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. (The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.) The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (pronounced: [ʒə mɛ̃.tjɛ̃.dʁe], French for "I shall uphold".)