On a coat of arms, the crest is found above the shield, usually on top of a helmet. The crest can be used alone as a symbol for the holder/family or a shortcut for the coat of arms.

It is illegal in the UK to assume another family's coat of arms, but someone doing so in England, Wales or Northern Ireland is unlikely to feel the long arm of the law.

A personal coat of arms and crest cost £6,075, while an impersonal non-profit organisation can get there's for £12,775. A commercial company will have to pay even more, with the total cost ...

Crests hold more historical significance than you might think. In medieval countries with a monarchy, the king would bestow a family crest or coat of arms on higher-class families and his knights.

Coats of arms date to the 12th Century, where they were first worn on battle shields. They were adopted by members of the royal family and spread among the wider nobility, granted by the monarch ...