Part 63 (1/2)

Robert, as we have seen, became heir male of his house and Duke of London in 1880. At his death (1896) Harriet becomes sole heir of Robert, but at her death in 1897 his niece Ada, the only child of his younger brother Philip, who had predeceased him, would be usually referred to as heir of Robert, whilst Cecil is heir male of his house. {530}

When the term ”of the body” is employed, _actual descent_ from that person is signified, _e.g._ Arthur after 1885 is ”collateral” heir-general of Dorothy, but ”heir-general of the body” of Edith Torkington.

An ”heir of entail,” or, to use the Scottish term, the ”heir of tailzie,”

is merely the person succeeding to _property_ under a specific remainder contained in a deed of entail. This has no relation to heirs.h.i.+p in blood, and the term, from an armorial point of view, might be entirely disregarded, were it not that some number of Scottish coats of arms, and a greater number of Scottish supporters, and some Scottish peerages and baronetcies, are specifically granted and limited to the heirs of entail.

There are a few similar English grants following upon Royal Licences for change of name and arms.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 742.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 743.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 744.]

The term ”heir in expectancy” is sometimes heard, but it is not really a proper term, and has no exact or legal meaning. When George was alive his daughter Dorothy was his heir-presumptive, but supposing that Dorothy were a Catholic nun and Alice a lunatic, in each of which cases there would be very little likelihood of any marriage ever taking place, Arthur would very generally be described as ”heir in expectancy,” for though he was neither heir-apparent nor heir-presumptive, all probability pointed to the eventual succession of himself or his issue.

Anybody is said to be ”in remainder” to entailed property or a peerage if he is included within the recited limits of the entail or peerage. The ”heir in remainder” is the person next ent.i.tled to succeed after the death of the existing holder.

Thus (excluding heirs in expectancy and women who are {531} heirs-presumptive) a marriage with any woman who is an heir or coheir results in her arms being placed upon an escutcheon of pretence over the arms of the husband. In the cases of all other women the arms are ”impaled”

only. To ”impale two coats” the s.h.i.+eld is divided by a straight line down the centre, the whole design of the arms of the husband being placed on the dexter side of the escutcheon, and the whole design of the wife's arms being placed on the sinister side (Fig. 742).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 745.]

It may perhaps be as well to here exemplify the different methods of the conjunction of the arms of man and wife, arranging the same two coats in the different methods in which they might be marshalled before reverting to ancient practices.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 746.]

An ordinary commoner impales his wife's arms as in Fig. 742. If she be an heiress, he places them on an escutcheon of pretence as in Fig. 743. If the husband, not being a Knight, is, however, a Companion of an Order of Knighthood, this does not (except in the case of the Commanders of the Victorian Order) give him the right to use the circle of his Order round his arms, and his badge is simply hung below the escutcheon, the arms of the wife being impaled or placed on an escutcheon of pretence thereupon as the case may necessitate. The wife of a Knight Bachelor shares the state and rank with her husband, and the only difference is in the helmet (Fig.

744). But if the husband be a knight of any order, the ensigns of that order are personal to himself, and cannot be shared with his wife, and consequently two s.h.i.+elds are employed. On the dexter s.h.i.+eld are the arms of the husband with the circle of his order of knighthood, and on the sinister s.h.i.+eld are the arms of the husband impaling the arms of the wife. Some meaningless decoration, usually a wreath of oak-leaves, is placed round the sinister s.h.i.+eld to ”balance,” from the artistic point, the {532} ribbon, or the ribbon and collar, as the case may be, of the order of knighthood of the husband (Fig. 745). A seeming exception to this rule in the case of the recent warrant to Queen Alexandra, whose arms, impaled by those of His Majesty, are depicted impaled within the Garter, is perhaps explained by the fact that Her Majesty is herself a member of that Order. A Knight Grand Cross, of course, adds his collar to the dexter s.h.i.+eld, and if he has supporters, these are placed outside the _two_ s.h.i.+elds.

A peer impales the arms of his wife as in the case of a commoner, the arms of the wife being, of course, under the protection of the supporters, coronet, and helmet of the peer (Fig. 746). If, in addition to being a peer, he is also a knight of an order, he follows the rules which prescribe the use of two s.h.i.+elds as already described.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 747.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 748.]

Supposing the wife to be a peeress in her own right, she cannot nowadays confer any rank whatever upon her husband; consequently, if she marry a commoner, the husband places her arms upon an escutcheon of pretence surmounted by a coronet of her rank, but the supporters belonging to her peerage cannot be added to his s.h.i.+eld. The arms of the wife are consequently repeated alone, but in this case upon a lozenge on the sinister side of the husband's s.h.i.+eld. Above this lozenge is placed the coronet of her rank, and the supporters belonging to her peerage are placed on either side of the lozenge (Fig. 747). But the arms of a peeress in her own right are frequently represented on a lozenge without any reference to the arms of her husband. In the case of a peeress in her own right marrying a peer, the arms of the peeress are placed upon an escutcheon of pretence in the centre of {533} her husband's s.h.i.+eld, the only difference being that this escutcheon of pretence is surmounted by the coronet belonging to the peerage of the wife; and on the sinister side the arms of the wife are repeated upon a lozenge with the supporters and coronet belonging to her own peerage. It is purely an artistic detail, but it is a happy conceit in such an instance to join together the compartments upon which the two pairs of supporters stand to emphasise the fact that the whole is in reality but one achievement (Fig. 748).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 749.]

Now, it is not uncommon to see an achievement displayed in this manner, for there have been several instances in recent years of peeresses in their own right who have married peers. Every woman who _inherits_ a peerage must of necessity be an heir or coheir, and, as will have been seen, the laws of armory provide for this circ.u.mstance; but supposing that the peeress were a peeress by creation and were not an heiress, how would her arms be displayed? Apparently it would not be permissible to place them on an escutcheon of pretence, and consequently there is no way upon the husband's s.h.i.+eld of showing that his wife is a peeress in her own right. Such an instance did arise in the case of the late Baroness Stratheden, who was created a peeress whilst not being an heiress. Her husband was subsequently created Baron Campbell. Now, how were the arms of Lord Campbell and Lady Stratheden and Campbell displayed? I think I am correct in saying that not a single textbook on armory recites the method which should be employed, and I candidly confess that I myself am quite ignorant upon the point.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 750.]

All the foregoing are simply instances of how to display the arms of man and wife, or, to speak more correctly, they are instances of the methods _in which a man should bear arms for himself and his wife when he is married_; for the helmet and mantling clearly indicate that it is the man's coat of arms, and not the woman's. In olden days, when the husband possessed everything, this might have been enough for all the circ.u.mstances which were likely to occur.

A lady whilst unmarried bears arms on a lozenge (Fig. 749), and upon becoming a widow, bears again upon a lozenge the arms of her husband impaled with the arms borne by her father (Fig. 750), or with the latter upon an escutcheon of pretence if the widow be herself an {534} heiress (Fig. 751). The widow of a knight has no way whatever of indicating that her husband was of higher rank than an ordinary unt.i.tled gentleman. The widow of a baronet, however, places the inescutcheon with the hand of Ulster upon her husband's arms (Fig. 752). I have often heard this disputed, but a reference to the Grant Books at the College of Arms (_vide_ a grant of arms some years ago to Lady Pearce) will provide the necessary precedent. If, however, the baronetcy is of Nova Scotia, this means of indicating the rank cannot be employed. The widow of a peer (not being a peeress in her own right) uses a lozenge of her husband's and her own arms, with his supporters and his coronet (Fig. 753).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 751.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 752.]