Three Crowns

Three Crowns (Swedish: Tre Kronor) is a national emblem of Sweden, present in the coat of arms of Sweden, and composed of three yellow or gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background.

The emblem is often used as a symbol of official State authority by the Monarchy, the Riksdag, the Government of Sweden and by Swedish embassies around the world, but also appears in other less formal contexts, such as the Sweden men's national ice hockey team, who wear the symbol on their sweaters and hence are called "Three Crowns", and atop the (built 1911–1923). The Three Crowns are also used as the roundel on military aircraft of the Swedish Air Force and as a sign on Swedish military equipment in general, and also on the uniforms and vehicles of the Swedish Police Authority.

Because of their common Scandinavian origin, the Three Crowns are also featured in the royal coat of arms of Denmark where they might be referred to as the "union mark".

One of several, earlier, traditional explanations have suggested Albrekt of Mecklenburg (1338–1412), who ruled Sweden 1364-89, brought the symbol from Germany as a sign of his reign of Sweden, Finland and Mecklenburg. Apart from the fact that Finland was not regarded as a country in its own right at the time, this theory has, however, been refuted by later research, namely, the announcement in 1982 of the discovery of a frieze in Avignon in southern France, estimated to date back to 1336. The frieze was painted for an international congress led by the Pope and contains the symbols of all participant countries, including Sweden. This discovery suggests the symbol was introduced no later than by Albrekt's predecessor Magnus Eriksson (1316–74).

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