Heraldic badge of Uncorn Pursuivant painted by Yvonne Holton
The 1st April 2026 marks the 600th anniversary of the first mention yet-discovered of Unicorn Pursuivant. It occurs in a charter held by the University of Aberdeen:
There is a damaged 1439 seal of Queen Joan Beaufort, widow of James I and Regent for her son, James II, showing the Queen's arms impaled with those of the King of Scots and supported, at least on the dexter, by what appears to be a unicorn. Why this should be so is not entirely clear as the Beauforts did not use the unicorn as a badge, only quills, portcullis and yale.
It is was not until 1484 that the unicorn appears supporting the royal arms. The adoption of the unicorn emblem as a Stewart royal emblem (which then becomes associated with a ‘national’ emblem centuries later) becomes cemented in the reigns of James III and James IV, the latter also introducing the thistle.
The current Unicorn Pursuivant, Roderick Macpherson,
at National Unicorn Day at Stirling Caste.
Royal Unicorn of Scotland painted by the late Mark Dennis
