London: Elements of California dreaming to reflect the beauty of the US state where Meghan Markle grew up have been incorporated into the heraldic coat of arms granted by the Queen to the new Duchess of Sussex.
For example, "the blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine of The Duchess's home state," explained Kensington Palace.
Then, as a 36-year-old feminist who knows her own mind, "the three quills represent communication and the power of words".
The shield has two "supporters", one belonging to her husband, Prince Harry, and one relating to her self.
Harry's is the gold lion, royally crowned, which dates from the House of Stuart's ascent to the throne in 1603. Here, too, Meghan has indicated she is someone who will speak her mind: "The Supporter relating to The Duchess of Sussex is a songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak, which with the quill represents the power of communication."
"Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California's state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace," the spokesman added.
"A Coronet has also been assigned to The Duchess of Sussex. It is the Coronet laid down by a Royal Warrant of 1917 for the sons and daughters of the Heir Apparent. It is composed of two crosses patée, four fleurs-de-lys and two strawberry leaves.
"The arms of a married woman are shown with those of her husband and the technical term is that they are impaled, meaning placed side by side in the same shield."
Before marriage, Meghan dropped all her old charities, discontinued her blog and did everything that was demanded of her by royal aides. Now that she safely a "Mrs", she appears in as diplomatic a way as possible to be putting her foot down.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the Queen's consent - but the monarch has decided that Meghan can be used as a powerful PR tool on behalf of what is known as "The Firm".
It was to be expected that as someone who had married into the royal family, she would be given her own coat of arms.
But what is noteworthy is that "Her Royal Highness worked closely with the College of Arms throughout the design process to create a Coat of Arms that was both personal and representative".
It was made clear that "the design of the Arms was agreed and approved by Her Majesty The Queen and Mr Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England, who is based at the College of Arms in London".
Woodcock said: "The Duchess of Sussex took a great interest in the design. Good heraldic design is nearly always simple and the Arms of The Duchess of Sussex stand well beside the historic beauty of the quartered British Royal Arms.
"Heraldry as a means of identification has flourished in Europe for almost nine hundred years and is associated with both individual people and great corporate bodies such as Cities, Universities and for instance the Livery Companies in the City of London. "
Stung by criticism that Kensington Palace had downplayed Meghan's previous life as a successful actress, her biography on the website given to the Duchess of Sussex now states prominently: "She most notably played the role of Rachel Zane on the series Suits for seven seasons, completing over 100 episodes."
