Editing Coat of arms (section)

===British heraldry===
{{main|English heraldry|Scottish heraldry|Welsh heraldry}}
[[File:Arms of Duke of Richmond 02817.jpg|thumb|upright=0.55|Arms of the [[Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset|Duke of Richmond]] {{Circa|1780}}]]
In the heraldic traditions of [[England]] and [[Scotland]], an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son; [[Women in heraldry|wives and daughters]] could also bear arms modified to indicate their relation to the current holder of the arms. [[Undifferenced arms]] are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the original bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some [[cadency|difference]]: usually a colour change or the addition of a distinguishing [[charge (heraldry)|charge]]. One such charge is the [[label (heraldry)|label]], which in British usage (outside the [[British Royal Family|Royal Family]]) is now always the mark of an [[heir apparent]] or (in Scotland) an [[heir presumptive]]. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents, the use of arms was strictly regulated; few countries continue in this today. This has been carried out by [[herald]]s and the study of coats of arms is therefore called "heraldry". In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, and other establishments.<ref name=emerald />

In Scotland, the [[Lord Lyon King of Arms]] has [[criminal jurisdiction]] to control the use of arms. In England, [[Northern Ireland]] and [[Wales]] the use of arms is a matter of [[Civil law (common law)|civil law]] and regulated by the [[College of Arms]] and the [[High Court of Chivalry]].

In reference to a dispute over the exercise of authority over the Officers of Arms in England, [[Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey]], [[Lord Privy Seal]], declared on 16 June 1673 that the powers of the [[Earl Marshal]] were "to order, judge, and determine all matters touching arms, ensigns of nobility, honour, and chivalry; to make laws, ordinances, and statutes for the good government of the Officers of Arms; to nominate Officers to fill vacancies in the College of Arms; to punish and correct Officers of Arms for misbehaviour in the execution of their places".  It was further declared that no patents of arms or any ensigns of nobility should be granted and no augmentation, alteration, or addition should be made to arms without the consent of the Earl Marshal.