The lions are depicted striding dexter (heraldic right), with their right front paw raised and their heads turned to face the viewer.

The blazon, or formal heraldic description, is Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure.

[8] During the existence of the Kingdom of England the arms were usually depicted as part of a full heraldic achievement, the appearance of which has varied over the centuries.

It was usually shown as an open circlet adorned with fleurs-de-lys or stylised leaves until the reign of Henry VI, when the design was altered to include crosses formy.

In the reign of Elizabeth I this was changed to a gold helm with a barred visor, facing the viewer, a design which is restricted to royal arms.

The supporters of many medieval monarchs were invented during the Tudor period but are still used to represent them, for instance at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

[4][16][17] Later, during the reign of the Plantagenets (specifically around the end of the 12th century), a formal and consistent English heraldry system emerged.

The blazon of the arms of Plantagenet is: Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure,[18][19] signifying three identical gold lions (also known as leopards) with blue tongues and claws, walking past but facing the observer, arranged in a column on a red background.

This coat, designed in the High Middle Ages, has been variously combined with those of the Kings of France, Scotland, a symbol of Ireland, the House of Nassau and the Kingdom of Hanover, according to dynastic and other political changes occurring in England, but has not altered since it took a fixed form in the reign of Richard I of England (1189–1199), the second Plantagenet king.

[19][4][16][17] Much later antiquarians would retrospectively invent attributed arms for earlier kings, but their reigns pre-dated the systematisation of hereditary English heraldry that only occurred in the second half of the 12th century.

The memorial enamel created to decorate Geoffrey's tomb depicts a blue coat of arms bearing gold lions.

[note 1] This royal banner differs from England's national flag, the St George's Cross, in that it does not represent any particular area or land, but rather symbolises the sovereignty vested in the rulers thereof.

One exception is the Duchy of Lancaster, the monarch's private estate, which uses the arms of England differenced by a 'label of France', i.e. a blue label of three points with three fleurs-de-lys in each.

These arms originated with Edmund Crouchback, the second son of Henry III, whose descendants were created dukes of Lancaster.

Outside of England, it also appears on the coats of arms of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, reflecting their heritage.

This most often occurred through descent from a member of the royal family (e.g. the dukes of Norfolk, descended from Thomas of Brotherton, fifth son of Edward I), or from an illegitimate child of the monarch being granted a version of the royal arms (e.g. the dukes of Richmond, descended from Charles Lennox, illegitimate son of Charles II).