The new Great Seal

Last Tuesday at a meeting of the Privy Council His Majesty The King handed over to the Lord Chancellor the new Great Seal of the realm. 

The always well researched and well presented website The Antiquary has a good video about this, which looks at the history of the Great Seal, its evolution over the centuries, and how it  is physically applied to Letters Patent. 

The video can be seen at The Great Seal of King Charles III

Unfortunately I have to admit to a lot of disappointment about this new seal.

The obverse, the Majesty side, does show the King enthroned in what appear to be meant as his coronation robes, and wearing a generic crown and holding the sceptre and orb. The artist has made a credible attempt at a portrait of the King. However the robes flow out, rather as with the second Great Seal of the late Queen, and lack the detailing that could have surely been achieved. The throne is not a recognisable state chair like St Edward’s Chair, the throne in the House of Lords or at Buckingham Palace. The King actually looks uncomfortable, his uniform trousers are too prominent and he appears to be wearing boots with platform heels.

The reverse replicates to all intents and purposes that of the 2001 second Seal of Queen Elizabeth II by just having the Royal Arms. 

Prior to that from the time of King William I the monarch was usually shown on horseback. Up to King Charles I they were shown in full armour as the commander of the military forces of the Crown, and Queens Regnant were shown riding side-saddle. Following the Resoration until the early nineteenth century Kings appeared, as they did on statues, in classical armour. Queen Victoria was shown being led on horseback on her Seal. In the twentieth century the tradition continued, but after King Edward VII with the monarch dressed as for Trooping the Colour, including the late Queen until 2001. One exception was an early Seal of King George V which showed him in the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet and standing on a battleship, which was appropriate at the time.

The centuries old tradition was then discarded in 2001 in favour of the Royal Arms, and without the customary inscription. The reason, I am told, was the design was dropped because the Queen no longer rode to Trooping the Colour. That does not seem a good argument to me. The Grat Seal traditionally represents the two key functions of the monarch, both as source of justice law and authority, and as head of the armed services. It is less a portrait, more an image.

I am surprised that the King, noted as a defender of traditional usages agreed to this design, and that there are people in the Palace and government who are either so insensitive to tradition or ignorant of it as to sanction such a change. Very sad.