Dieu et mon droit

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Royal coat of arms of Great Britain (1714–1801).
The same coat of arms on a thaler of King George I as Elector of Braunschweig-Lüneburg , 1724

Dieu et mon droit [ djø e mɔ̃ ˈdʀwa ] ( French for God and my rights ) is the motto of the British monarchs . He was during the reign of Henry VI. (1422–1461), who had been crowned both King of France and King of England and was fluent in French. Originally the motto was "Dieu et mon droict" according to the French orthography of the time , but later the outdated c in "droict" was omitted. Today the motto appears on the coat of arms of the United Kingdom .

The motto had been used more than two centuries before the official introduction, 1198 as the watchword of King Richard the Lionheart during the battle of Gisors against the French King Philip II. It means that the king is responsible only to God, but not to any earthly power or authority another monarch ( divine right ) and can set law himself.

Use of “Dieu et mon droit” on a building in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

literature

  • Augustus Meves: "Dieu et mon Droit.": The Dauphin - Louis XVII, King of France. His Deliverance from the Tower of the Temple at Paris, Adoption, and Subsequent Career in England. Dedicated to the French Nation and European Powers . R. Bentley and son, 1876. Reprint: 2009, ISBN 978-1-17-610784-7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b page of the British Embassy in Germany .