A royal seal is the chief seal of the crown, which has been used to signify the reigning monarch’s approval of important documents for centuries. In fact, they were so important that counterfeiting a Seal of the Realm was considered high treason and punishable by death.
Tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages and Tudor times, when very few could read or write, it provided a pictorial expression of Royal approval that everyone could understand.
In fact, the Seals of the Realm remain fundamental to government today, and in some sense, even more important than they were centuries ago.
What is a Great Seal?
The Great Seal, an emblem of authority, is created using a pair of engraved silver matrices. Softened wax or plastic is pressed between these matrices to create a double-sided impression. This impression is then attached to official documents using strings.
Over time, the matrices wear out, necessitating the creation of new Great Seals. Queen Victoria, during her 63-year reign, had four different Great Seals. When a new seal is made, the old one is ceremonially defaced and presented to the Lord Chancellor.
The prestige and authority linked to these seals have occasionally attracted criminals. In fact, a seal of George III was stolen in the 1700s, and those responsible were never caught, but the story goes that it was politicians who wanted to prevent the dissolving of Parliament behind it.
The Modern Great Seal
During 1877 and the expansion of the British Empire, it became almost impossible to keep up with the number of documents that needed approval. The Great Seal was thought to have needed 600 kilos of wax a year. That’s about the same as 6 baby elephants!
Soon a single-sided embossing seal was created and used to make impressions on documents. Since then, the Great Seal with wax has been restricted to only the most important state documents.
The original Great Seals are impossible to own. The Royal Mint holds a number of wax impressions of official seals. They are stored in the museum and some are on display for the public to view.
If you’re interested:
The Royal Mint have, for the first time in history, released a remastered version of the Great Seal of King Henry VIII. And it’s struck from 99.9% PURE SILVER. Just 2,000 have been issued, making it an incredibly rare way of owning one of history’s most important artefacts. Click here to own it.