Spanish Royal Coat of Arms
| Coat of arms of the King of Spain | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Details | |
| Armiger | Felipe VI |
| Adopted | 19 June 2014 |
| Crest | Spanish Royal Crown |
| Escutcheon | Quarterly: Castile, León, Aragon, and Navarre; enté en point: Granada; inescutcheon Bourbon (Anjou Branch) |
| Orders | Order of the Golden Fleece |
| Earlier versions | See below |
The coat of arms of the King of Spain is the heraldic symbol representing the monarch of Spain. The current version of the monarch's coat of arms was adopted in 2014 but is of much older origin. The arms marshal the arms of the former monarchs of Castille, León, Aragon, and Navarre.
Traditionally, coats of arms did not belong to a nation but to the monarch who would quarter his shield with territorial claims of his dynasty. Formerly, the Spanish monarch's arms were much more complex than they are today. It would feature the arms of the various territories of this dynasty. A simpler version of these arms, known as the lesser arms, would also be used; This lesser arms were another set of arms within the centre of the full arms. During the later part of the Bourbon dynasty this would be quarterly Castille and Leon.
In 1868, during the provisional government that followed the overthrow of Queen Isabella II, an arms of national character was adopted; This 1868 arms created the present-day arrangement of elements in the shield. The "national arms" and "royal arms" would coexist after the restoration of the monarchy. In 1931, the royal arms was revised to incorporate what had been hitherto the "national arms" into the royal arms and to replace the former lesser arms of the King (i.e. quarterly Castille and Leon). The monarchy would later be abolished later that year.
When don Juan Carlos, grandson of Alfonso XIII (the last king of Spain), was chosen to be the successor of General Francisco Franco, the arms adopted for his use in 1971 as Prince of Spain was quarterly Castille, Leon, Aragon, and Navarre. The heraldic achievement also included the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Cross of Burgundy and the yoke and bundle of arrows formerly used by the Catholic Monarchs; This would be the same arms he would use as King. Upon Felipe VI's ascension to the throne in 2014, the cross, yoke, and arrows would not be retained in the royal arms.
The blazoning of the coat of arms of the King of Spain is set out in Royal Decree 527/2014, 20 June, an amendment to Title II of Spanish Royal Decree 1511/1977 adopting Flags, Standards, Guidons, Insignia and Emblems Regulation. The coat of arms was adopted when King Felipe VI was enthroned as King of Spain.
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