Foreign Honors for U.S. Presidents (and others)

[Chas]

It has been argued elsewhere that Scottish arms still confer nobility, though my tendency is to agree with you. Colin Powell on the other hand received his "gifted grant" through his mother's tie with Scotland as I recall.

The Coat of Arms of Colin Powell was granted by the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh on February 4, 2004. Technically the grant was to Powell's father (a British subject) to be passed on by descent. Scotland's King of Arms is traditionally responsible for granting arms to Commonwealth citizens of Scottish descent. Blazoned as:

Azure, two swords in saltire points downwards between four mullets Argent, on a chief of the Second a lion passant Gules. On a wreath of the Liveries is set for Crest the head of an American bald-headed eagle erased Proper. And in an escrol over the same this motto, "DEVOTED TO PUBLIC SERVICE."

The swords and stars refer to the former general's career, as does the crest, which is the badge of the 101st Airborne (which he served as a brigade commander in the mid-1970s). The lion may be an allusion to Scotland. The shield can be shown surrounded by the insignia of an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB), an award the General received after the first Gulf War.

Regards

Chas

[Gregmc]

Regards

Chas

Yes; I was thinking about Obama's mother. You are right. The thing is though, as I recall there was a thing about the "nobility" of Scottish arms. I understand that each Lord Lyon sets his own bar, but I've yet to hear otherwise. I've always thought it a bit of stretch myself, but those were the words of Lyon and the heraldic intelligencia.

Has Lyon entered an official position? Or is it still a guess.