The Royal Coat of Arms of England was the official coat of arms of the Monarchs of England, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of England until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Afterwards, the arms became an integral part of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. The spread of the British Empire has led to the arms being incorporated in various other coats of arms of the UK's former colonies. The arms of England are not used in any official capacity on their own, although they do feature in the first and fourth quarters of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. However, the arms of both the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board are based on the three lions design. In recent years, it has been common to see banners of the arms flown at English football matches, in the same way the Lion Rampant is flown in Scotland. In 1996, Three Lions was the unofficial song of the England football team for the 1996 European Football Championship, which were held in England.
