ON THE AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE FRONT On 4 August 2025, the “DefenceConnect” eNewsletter delivered a comprehensive summary of our services’ progressive regal updates. Interspersed quotes below are from the services’ own websites. Defence has begun updating digital images, brand marks and logos with new versions featuring King Charles III’s Tudor Crown, to replace the late Queen Elizabeth II’s St Edward’s Crown. The new pattern, approved by service chiefs, [came] into effect from 1 August 2025. Digital uses…will be among the first to be updated. The rollout will occur in phases across Defence groups and services, aligning with the King’s wish to avoid unnecessary expenditure. Uniform updates will occur gradually, as stock runs out and opportunities arise, and will be aligned with the evolving design for each uniform type. The last change to Defence’s royal symbol occurred in 1952, following Queen Elizabeth II’s accession, with the St Edward’s Crown incorporated into Navy’s Ceremonial Badge on 3 December 1957. Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond approved the updated Navy Badge, featuring the Tudor Crown. Manager Navy Badges Paul Burnett said both versions of the monarch’s crowns were endorsed royal symbols, and the St Edward’s Crown was a valid symbol of Navy’s royal warrant until replaced. “This follows the precedent from Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Back then, the changeover to the St Edward’s crown occurred over a tenyear timeframe.” Chief of Army Lieutenant-General Simon Stuart approved the new Rising Sun emblem (eighth pattern) and the updated Army brand mark featuring the Tudor Crown. Both designs have been modernised to enhance accessibility, readability and usability across applications. The previous version of the Rising Sun emblem (seventh pattern) was introduced in 1991. With modern brand identities increasingly viewed on mobile devices and at small scale, this refresh reflected the need for designs that are contemporary and digitally adaptable. “The change will be applied gradually and pragmatically in physical products as part of routine updates and replacements…The update is being implemented using existing internal resources. There are no additional costs to the public as part of this process.” Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Stephen Chappell approved the new ‘CIIIR’ pattern of the Royal Australian Air Force badge, featuring the Tudor Crown. Air Force is also bringing its badges into the 21st century by redrawing each as digital-by-design. “According to the UK College of Arms, it is envisaged that the form of the Crown seen in King Charles III’s new cypher will be adopted as the form used in representations…in Military and Crown Badges in the new reign. It is the intention that the new cypher and new rendering of the Crown will be introduced gradually, and generally only when equipment or uniforms which bear them needs to be replaced. This will be similar to what happened in the 1950s–60s as Queen Elizabeth II’s cypher [replaced] that of King George VI.” Badges for inactive units will continue to reflect the pattern in use at the time of disbanding. n PIC: Matthew Tesch PIC: Insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk St Edward’s Crown artwork Simplified digital re-drawing Tudor Crown artwork Simplified digital re-drawing Amidst all this — and perhaps we overlook this historical anachronism in our digital 21st century — is mindfulness that, from the Tudor Crown's creation in the early 16th up to the early 20th Centuries, artists and engravers would, often, introduce variations (inadvertently or by design) on an ‘accepted’ crown in their personal efforts to reproduce artwork by hand across various mediums.10 There are many instances of this in our Squadron’s own historical memorabilia (see centre column, facing page), including on Commodore (1928–29) Victor Campbell’s own burgee — displayed in one of the glass cabinets in the Cavill Building’s Members’ Lounge (image below). For example: the differences in treatment of the jewels on the band of the burgee crown (compare embroiderer's below with the computer graphic above) and the lack of the white brim beneath it. Note also the burgee pearls are red, not white — and the number of pearls on each 'arc' of the Tudor Crown have varied from 11 (or more) to (the correct) nine over time and various reiterations! Roger concludes by saying that “overall, it's all certainly an interesting topic for Members to explore, investigate, debate and discuss, for sure, and if this helps trigger further research into RQYS history and the fascinating realm of vexillology in general, then that’s not a bad way to spend an arvo … just watch out for all the ‘rabbit holes’!” n Footnotes 1 https://www.rqys.com.au/our-history 2 https://www.openboat.com.au/the-intercolonial-challenges-of-the-1890s.html 3 https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/au~rqys.html 4 An undefaced ensign is a plain national flag flown at sea that does not contain any added badges, seals, or emblems. 5 https://rtyc.org/blue-ensign and see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ensign 6 https://www.rqys.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/138th_Annual_Report_2022-23_Amendment_1_21.06.2023_Page_26.pdf 7 In fact, King Edward VII had also been asked by the UK War Office for guidance on standardising numerous different crown designs then in use across the British Army, deciding in 1901 to adopt the ‘Tudor Crown’ as “chosen and always used by Queen Victoria personally” and which was then used until the accession of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952; interestingly, Queen Victoria herself ‘tinkered’ with her own crown design during her reign! For more, see, et al: • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom • https://archive.org/details/genealogicalmaga5190unse/page/92/mode/2up • https://archive.org/details/heraldryhistoric01bout/page/332/mode/2up 8 See https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2420632 et al; see also Note 6 above! 9 https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/19/updating-gov-uks-crown 10 https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Tudor_Crown Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Yearbook Mainsheet 2026 75 ‘Crowning’ this MAINSHEET 2026
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