In heraldry, the Royal Arms of England is a coat of arms first adopted as their personal arms by the Plantagenet kings of England in the late 12th century. They have come to symbolize in the popular mind England (although historically nations never bore arms, only persons did) and its monarchs. Its blazon is Gules, three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langued azure, meaning three identical gold lions (also known as leopards) with blue tongues and claws, walking and facing the observer, arranged in a column on a red background. Although, the azure tincture of tongue and claws is not cited in many blazon's, they are a distinguishing feature of the Arms of England, historically. This coat, designed in the High Middle Ages, has been variously combined with those of France, Scotland, Ireland, Nassau and Hanover, according to dynastic and other political changes affecting England, but has not itself been altered since the reign of King Richard I of England (1189–1199).