1. Symbols and their meanings
Discovering royal symbols at the Tower of London
Introduction:
This PowerPoint will help pupils to decode symbols and badges at the Tower of London. Through understanding what the badges mean and represent, they will be able to build up an understanding of the Tower’s history.

2. Look at these animals. What are they?
What qualities does this animal represent?
Have you seen this symbol before?
Teachers’ notes:
We associate symbols with identity and there are lots of examples all around us. Ask the pupils to think about school badges, brand logos, football clubs, towns, businesses, countries and religious symbols. Do the pupils support a football or sports team? What is the symbol of the team? The symbol above is the three lions ‘passant’ of England (and can be seen in the Medieval Palace at the Tower of London). Ask the pupils if they also recognise it as the ‘three lions’ on the England football shirt, on the flag of England or a one pound coin. The use of the ‘three lions’ goes back to King Richard I (or Richard the Lionheart), who used the lions as part of his Royal Standard.
Have a general discussion with the pupils about the following:
What is a badge?
What is a symbol?
What is the difference between a badge and a symbol?
What do symbols represent?
Why do we use symbols?
How do symbols communicate information to us?
How can you read a symbol?
The images that make up symbols usually have some meaning, or are designed to represent something or someone. Because the Tower of London is a royal palace, you can find many symbols on site that represent the monarchy. You can also find many other symbols and badges which visually illustrate the Tower’s role and history.
Where?

3. Why can you see this symbol at the Tower of London?
The three lions have been used as the symbol of England since the time of King Richard I ( )
Why can you see this symbol at the Tower of London?

4. Look at this symbol. What is it?
Have you seen it before?
Where?
Teachers’ notes:
This is St Edward’s crown, the symbol of the British monarchy. In Britain you see royal crowns everywhere - from money, postboxes, mail vans and telephone boxes to government buildings such as the Royal Courts of Justice. The crown is like a ‘brand’ for the monarchy and is a symbol of the ancient power of the state. The Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London wear the crown on their uniforms. The St Edward’s crown and other crowns, such as the Imperial crown, are symbols of monarchy and form part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.
For more information or to explore the Crown Jewels in detail, please see the Powerpoint “Crown Jewels”.
Whose symbol is it?
Where can you see it at the Tower of London?

5. This is the symbol of the kings and queens of England
This is the symbol of the kings and queens of England. It is a copy of St Edward’s crown, which is part of the Crown Jewels
Teachers’ notes:
The Yeoman Warders wear the crown on their uniform.

6. Where is this flag? Why is it here? Teachers’ notes:
The Royal Standard is flown when the Queen is staying at one her royal residences and can also be seen mounted on her car. Although the Tower of London is no longer used as a royal residence, it is a royal property and therefore flies the Royal Standard. If you look up very high, you can see the Royal Standard on top of the White Tower.

7. Look at this flag. What can you see?
Crown
Lion of Scotland
Three lions of England
Harp of Northern Ireland
Teachers’ notes
This is a weather vane on top of the White Tower at the Tower of London. It shows the Royal Standard and is topped by St Edward’s crown. It has been used in its current form since 1837.
The quarters represent the following:
Three lions passant represent England
The red lion on the gold background represents Scotland
The golden harp on the blue background represents Northern Ireland
These are the countries within the United Kingdom.
What is this flag? Whose flag is it?
What do the symbols mean?

8. Look at this badge. What can you see?
crest
crown
helmet
lion
shield
unicorn
the ‘Garter’
motto
Teachers’ notes:
This is the Royal Arms of England and Scotland, which can be found on the Middle Tower at the Tower of London. The Middle Tower is the main public entrance to the Tower of London (near the shop and ticket office). Ask the pupils to identify the different parts of the coat of arms and to think about what each part represents; the lion represents bravery, the crown represents royalty and the helmet represents war or battle.
Ask the pupils why they think the emblem of the Royal Arms is on the entrance to the Tower of London. Who owns the Tower?
What does each part symbolise?
Lion with crown: This lion represents England
Unicorn: This represents Scotland. The unicorn is chained because they were thought to be dangerous animals.
Crown: This is St Edward’s crown worn by the kings and queens of England at their coronation, and is part of the Crown Jewels
Helmet: This is called the royal helm and forms part of the crest
Crest: Formed of a lion wearing a version of the Imperial crown
Shield (divided into quarters): two quarters show the three lions of England, one quarter the harp for Northern Ireland, and the final quarter depicts the red lion for Scotland. The pupils will have seen this in more detail on the previous slide.
The ‘Garter’: The Order of the Garter was founded by King Edward III and still exists today. The symbol for the Order is the garter and its motto (around the shield) is ‘Honi soi que mal y pense’ (Shame on him who thinks evil on it)
Motto: ‘Dieu et mon droit’ (God and my right) is the motto of the kings and queens of England
The extra detail at the top by the helm is ermine, and at the bottom (although not clear in this photograph) are usually the Tudor rose, shamrock and thistle which represent England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Whose badge is this? Where can you see this badge at the Tower?

9. These are the Royal Arms of England and Scotland
These are the Royal Arms of England and Scotland. It is the badge of the kings and queens of Britain. You can see it on the Middle Tower.

10. Summary What did you already know about symbols?
What new information have you learnt?
See how many more different badges and symbols you can find when you visit the Tower!