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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new website, Sussex.com, stirred speculations on whether a royal crest was featured in the revamped website. The website's homepage stated, "The Office of Prince Harry & Meghan. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex" beneath a symbol that people seemingly identified as a royal crest.
However, the website features a royal coat of arms and not a royal crest, specifically the coat of arms created for Meghan Markle and approved by Queen Elizabeth before the former's wedding to Prince Harry.
The revamped website was quietly launched with no fanfare on February 12, 2024, four years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle rescinded their royal family duties on January 8, 2020.
A royal crest is not used on the new Sussex website
When the new Sussex website was unveiled, people were mistakenly up in arms about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's use of a royal crest on the homepage, especially after distancing themselves from the royal family. However, it was proven that the symbol was a coat of arms and not a royal crest.
According to the College of Arms website, it is a popular misconception that the word "crest" describes "a whole coat of arms or any heraldic device," when in reality:
"A crest is a specific part of a full achievement of arms: the three-dimensional object placed on top of the helm."
As per the Royal Family website, the coat of arms used in the new Sussex website was created specifically for Meghan Markle in May 2018. The design was approved by Queen Elizabeth and Thomas Woodcock, the Garter King of Arms and Senior Herald in England.
The new coat of arms, created to be "both personal and representative," had a blue backdrop for the shield representing the Pacific Ocean on the Californian coast, with two golden rays that ran across, symbolic of sunshine, to pay homage to Markle's Californian roots.
The three quills in the shield denoted "communication and the power of words." The base of the shield showed a medley of golden poppies, California's state flower, and wintersweet, which grows in Kensington Palace.
The figurines on either side of the shield are called "Supporters." The supporters featured are a lion on the left and a songbird on the right for Markle, as opposed to the traditional coat of arms, which features a lion and a unicorn.
Thomas Woodcock claimed that Markle took great interest in the design process, saying:
"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."
The Sussex's new website will provide latest news about the couple
According to People Magazine, Sussex.com will feature the latest news about the royal couple as well as provide links to their not-for-profit charity, Archewell Foundations, and their production company, Archewell Productions.
The new site also featured separate biographies for the couple, highlighting their interests, careers, and philanthropic endeavors, calling Harry a “humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate, and environmental campaigner” and Markle a “feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity.”
Prince Harry was last seen at the NFL Honors on February 8, where he presented the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year to Pittsburgh Steelers Cameron Heyward. The royal couple will soon travel to Canada for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 One Year To Go Countdown from February 14 to February 16.
