Why is the motto of the Monarchy and of the UK in general is in French?

Question

the UK motto is "Dieu et mon droit". how come? is this from william the conqueror?

Answer 1

'Dieu et mon droit' (French for 'God and my right') is the motto of the Sovereign. The words were the countersign (military password) chosen by King Richard I before the battle of Gisors in 1198, meaning that he was no vassal of France, but owed his royalty to God alone. The French were defeated in battle, but the password was not adopted as the royal motto of England until the time of Henry VI and has since been retained by his successors. The motto appears below the shield on the Royal Coat of Arms.

'Honi soit qui mal y pense' (French for 'Evil be to him who evil thinks') appears on a garter which surrounds the shield on the Royal Coat of Arms. This garter symbolises the Order of the Garter, an ancient order of knighthood of which the Queen is Sovereign. The Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III in 1348 during the Hundred Years War with France.

The motto may well have been directed at critics of the King's claims to the French throne; however, according to a tradition first recorded by Tudor chroniclers, the motto originated at a feast celebrating the capture of Calais in 1347. The King's mistress, the Countess of Salisbury, was mocked by courtiers for losing her garter during a dance, but Edward at once stepped forward and tied the blue ribbon around his own knee, uttering the motto as a rebuke and declaring that the Garter would soon be held in the highest esteem!

Answer 2

If you look at the history of the Monarchs of England from 1066 ad you will find that they have all been foreigners or of foreign descent.
The French ruled from 1066 to 1485 when the Welshman Henry Tudor (Henry VII) became monarch.
The Tudors finished with Elizabeth 1 when she died in 1603
From 1603 to 1688 it was the Stuart dynasty from Scotland with a short break for Oliver Cromwell , the only Englishman to rule England but he was not a monarch.
Then the Dutchman William of Orange took over followed by Anne , an offshoot of the Stuarts.
Then from 1714 to the present day the Germans took over , starting with George 1 and they consolidated their position by always marrying Germans to keep the monarchy out of English hands.
This system broke down when Edward VIII wanted to marry an American in the 1930s and it cost him the throne.
His brother who had already married a Scotswoman was forced to become George VI.
Elizabeth II managed to find a German husband by way of the Greek royal family (Prince Phillipos) but nobody wanted to marry the next generation , Prince Charles, until Diana Spencer was chosen to be the Princess of Wales.
She was the first English person since 1066 ad to marry an English monarch or the heir to the throne.
So the royal family has always adopted their mottos from foreign languages. Apart from the french mottos , the motto of the Prince of Wales is German , ich dien.

Answer 3

It was adopted during the reign of Henry V. As mentioned above, Henry was in fact King of both England and France at the time; English was still a very new language, with most of the upper classes still speaking French hence the motto was inscribed in French. However, I do wonder why (as Carolyn intimated) why the motto wasn't in Latin, as most others are.

Answer 4

Very likely. William the Conqueror was from Normandy, which is part of France. In fact, French became the official language of England for a while, until it blended with Anglo-Saxon to become the direct ancestor of the English we use today.

Answer 5

French was the language of the upper classes and monarchies for century's.English,Swedish and Russian royal families to name a few could not speak their native languages for centuries and obviously the English always maintained a claim to the French throne.Even now even now the Fleur de Lille's is displayed on some royal banners.

Answer 6

'Cos we like to piss the french off at every opportunity! Stealing thier language really makes them mad...

First used by Richard the 1st in 1198 (as a password in battle believe it or not!) but officially adopted as the motto of England by Henry the 8th...

It's in french because English at the time was a relatively new language and also because Henry the 8th was crowned both King of France and King of England...

Answer 7

A Motto is always written in Latin... Certain words from both French and English are derived from Latin.....

Answer 8

It was started by Henry V, as at the time English was not an established language at that time. King Henry V was crowned King of England and France at the time.

It means God and my right, implying the sovereigns right to govern. Meaning they were chosen by God.

Answer 9

actually it wasn't from William... the monarchs thought it would sound cool if their motto is in french rather than in plain English...

Answer 10

It is actually old Norman French, and yes you are right about what happened in 1066.