It is based on the arms borne by the 13th-century Welsh prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (blazoned quarterly Or and gules, four lions passant guardant counterchanged), with the addition of St Edward's Crown atop a continuous scroll which, together with a wreath consisting of the plant emblems of the four countries of the United Kingdom, surrounds the shield.

[1] The motto which appears on the scroll, PLEIDIOL WYF I'M GWLAD ('I am true to my country'), is taken from the national anthem of Wales; it was also an element of the Welsh designs for £1 coins minted from 1985 until 2000.

Its predecessors have all been variations on either the Red Dragon, an ancient emblem revived by Henry VII, or the arms of Llywelyn.

[6] Before the Norman Conquest, Wales was ruled by a number of kings and princes, whose dominions shifted and sometimes merged following the vagaries of war, marriage and inheritance.

All these kings and princes were ascribed personal coats of arms, often retrospectively if they lived before the dawn of heraldry as it is currently known, and these were borne by their descendants in Wales.

When in 1911 the future King Edward VIII was made Prince of Wales, a warrant exemplifying his arms was issued.

The augmented badge is blazoned: Within a circular riband Argent fimbriated Or bearing the motto Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRY CYCHWYN ("the red dragon inspires action"), in letters Vert, and ensigned with a representation of the Crown proper, an escutcheon per fesse Argent and Vert and thereon the Red Dragon passant.

[Gwilym Lloyd George – Minister for Food, later Home Secretary] In 1956 this badge was added to the arms of the Welsh capital city Cardiff by placing it on collars around the necks of the two supporters of the shield.