A specific type of crown is employed in heraldry under strict rules. Indeed, some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium.
Crowns are also often used as symbols of religious status or veneration, by divinities (or their representation such as a statue) or by their representatives, e.g. the Black Crown of the Karmapa Lama, sometimes used a model for wider use by devotees.
If the bearer of a coat of arms has the title of baron or higher (or hereditary knight in some countries), he or she may display a coronet of rank above the shield, usually below the helm in British heraldry, and often above the crest (if any) in Continental heraldry.
In this case, the appearance of the crown or coronet follows a strict set of rules. A royal coat of arms may display a royal crown, such as that of Norway. A princely coat of arms may display a princely crown, and so on.
A mural crown is commonly displayed on coats of arms of towns and some republics. Other republics may use a so-called people's crown or omit the use of a crown altogether. The heraldic forms of crowns are often inspired by the physical appearance of the respective country's actual royal or princely crowns.
Ships and other units of some navies have a naval crown, composed of the sails and sterns of ships, above the shield of their coats of arms. Squadrons of some air forces have an astral crown, composed of wings and stars. There is also the Eastern crown, made up of spikes, and when each spike is topped with a star, it becomes a celestial crown.[1]
Whereas most county councils in England use mural crowns, there is a special type of crown that was used by Scottish county councils. It was composed of spikes, was normally shown vert (green) and had golden wheat sheaves between the spikes.[2] Today, most of the Scottish unitary authorities still use this "wheat sheaf crown", but it is now the usual gold.
In the British peerage, the design of a coronet shows the rank of its owner, as in German, French and various other heraldic traditions. The coronet of a duke has eight strawberry leaves, that of a marquess has four strawberry leaves and four silver balls (known as "pearls", but not actually pearls), that of an earl has eight strawberry leaves and eight "pearls" raised on stalks, that of a viscount has sixteen "pearls", and that of a peerage baron or (in Scotland) lord of parliament has six "pearls". Between the 1930s and 2004, feudal barons in the baronage of Scotland were granted a chapeau or cap of maintenance as a rank insignia.[citation needed] This is placed between the shield and helmet in the same manner as a peer's coronet. Since a person entitled to heraldic headgear customarily displays it above the shield and below the helm and crest, this can provide a useful clue as to the owner of a given coat of arms.
Members of the British royal family have coronets on their coats of arms, and they may wear physical versions at coronations. They are according to regulations made by King Charles II in 1661, shortly after his return from exile in France (getting a taste for its lavish court style; Louis XIV started monumental work at Versailles that year) and Restoration, and they vary depending upon the holder's relationship to the monarch. Occasionally, additional royal warrants vary the designs for individuals.
In Canadian heraldry, special coronets are used to designate descent from United Empire Loyalists. A military coronet signifies ancestors who served in Loyalist regiments during the American Revolution, while a civil coronet is used by all others. The loyalist coronets are used only in heraldry, never worn. A new royal crown, derived from the shape of the Tudor crown but with distinctly Canadian elements, was unveiled at a ceremony in Ottawa to mark the Coronation of Charles III.[citation needed]
Precisely because there are many traditions and more variation within some of these, there is a plethora of continental coronet types. Indeed, there are also some coronets for positions that do not exist, or do not entitle use of a coronet, in the Commonwealth tradition.
Such a case in French heraldry of the Ancien Régime, where coronets of rank did not come into use before the 16th century, is the vidame, whose coronet (illustrated) is a metal circle mounted with three visible crosses. (No physical headgear of this type is known.)
Helmets are often substitutes for coronets, and some coronets are worn only on a helmet.
During the Swedish reign, Swedish coronets were used. Crowns were used in the coats of arms of the historical provinces of Finland. For Finland Proper, Satakunta, Tavastia and Karelia, it was a ducal coronet, for others, a comital coronet. In 1917 with independence, the coat of arms of Finland was introduced with a grand ducal crown, but it was soon removed, in 1920. Today, some cities use coronets, e.g. Pori has a mural crown and Vaasa a Crown of Nobility.[citation needed]
In heraldry, a charge is an image occupying the field of a coat of arms. Many coats of arms incorporate crowns as charges. One notable example of this lies in the Three Crowns of the arms of Sweden.
Additionally, many animal charges (frequently lions and eagles) and sometimes human heads also appear crowned. Animal charges gorged (collared) of an open coronet also occur, though more often as supporters than as charges.
A golden crown appears prominently in the arms of Vestfold, a county in Norway.
A crowned lion head in the arms of Kreis Biedenkopf, a county in Hesse, Germany (1832-1974)
^Currently, besides the grandchildren of the present King Charles III, the living grandchildren of a former sovereign are granted the privilege to use the crown of a Sovereign's Grandchild.
Photograph of the physical crown of Norway
Representation of the physical crown of Norway
The heraldic crown for the King of Norway (1905 pattern)
A depiction of a naval crown
A depiction of an astral crown
A depiction of a mural crown
A depiction of a celestial crown
A depiction of an eastern crown
A depiction of a camp crown
A depiction of a crown used by a Scottish unitary authority.svg)
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Monarch: Tudor Crown
Monarch: Crown of Scotland
Monarch: Canadian Royal Crown
Monarch: St Edward's Crown
Monarch: Imperial Crown (medieval)
Heir Apparent
Child of a Sovereign
Child of Heir Apparent![Grandchild of a Sovereign[a]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Coronet_of_a_Grandchild_of_the_Sovereign.svg/120px-Coronet_of_a_Grandchild_of_the_Sovereign.svg.png)
Grandchild of a Sovereign[a]![Child of daughter of a Sovereign, if styled Highness[3]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Coronet_of_a_Child_of_a_Daughter_of_the_Sovereign.svg/120px-Coronet_of_a_Child_of_a_Daughter_of_the_Sovereign.svg.png)
Duke
Marquess
Earl
Viscount
Peerage Baron/Lord of Parliament (Scotland)
Feudal Baron (Scotland)
Loyalist military coronet (Canada)
Loyalist civil coronet (Canada)
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![Grandchild of a Sovereign[a]](/wiki/File:Coronet_of_a_Grandchild_of_the_Sovereign.svg)
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Capital
Department Capital[b]
Commune[b]
King
Heir to the throne (Dauphin)
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Children and grandchildren of the sovereign .svg){kind=small}
Prince of the Blood
Duke and Peer of France
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Duke
Marquis and Peer of France
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Marquis
Count and Peer of France
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Count
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Count (older)
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Viscount
Vidame
Baron
Knight's crown
Knight's tortillon
Prince
Duke
Count
Baron
Knight
Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
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Older Imperial Crown
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Newer Imperial Crown
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Oldest Crown of the King of the Romans
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Older Crown of the King of the Romans
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Newer Crown of the King of the Romans
Crown of the King of Bohemia
Generic Crown of a King or Grand Duke
Archducal hat
Ducal hat of Styria
Oldest Electoral hat
Older Electoral hat
New Electoral hat & new Ducal hat
Ducal crown
Crown of an heir to a duchy
Princely hat (also used by Mediatized Counts
Princely crown
Crown of a Landgrave
Older crown of a Count
Newer crown of a Count
Older crown of a Baron/Freiherr
Newer Crown of a Baron/Freiherr
Older Crown of Nobility
Newer Crown of Nobility
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Mural crown of the coat of arms of Austria
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Mural crown of the State of Lower Austria
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Crown of the Emperor of Austria
Archducal crown
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Volkskrone (People's Crown)
Mural crown of the arms of the Berlin boroughs
Crown of the German Emperor
Crown of the German Empress
Crown of the German Crown Prince
Crown of the King of Prussia
Crown of the King of Bavaria
Crown of the King of Württemberg
Crown of the King of Hanover
Province
City
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Municipality
King (crown of Savoy)
Heir to the throne (Prince of Piedmont)
Royal prince[c]
Prince of the blood
Duke
Marquess
Count
Viscount
Baron
Noble
Hereditary Knight
Patrician
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Province
King of Naples
Heir to the throne (Duke of Calabria)
Prince and princess
Medici Grand Dukes of Tuscany
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Holy Roman Emperor
King
Prince
Prince
Duke
Marquess
Count
Viscount
Baron
Hereditary Knight
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King
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Prince of the Royal house
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Prince 
Duke
Marquess
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Count (oldest)
Viscount
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Baron
Baron (older)
Hereditary Knight
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Heraldic Crown of the King
Crown of Bolesław I the Brave of Poland
Capital city (Lisbon)
City
Town
Civil Parish
Overseas province
King
Heir to the throne (Prince Royal)
Prince of Beira
Infante
Duke
Marquess
Count
Viscount
Baron
Knight / Fidalgo
Emperor
Empress
Crown of Congress Poland
Crown of the Grand Duchy of Finland
Altabas cap
Kazan cap
Monomakh's Cap
Prince
Baron (alternative style)
Crown of Nobility
Crown Prince
Prince (royal family)
Duke
Marquess
Count
Baron
Crown of Nobility
King
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Crown Prince
Prince or Princess
King/Queen
Crown Prince/Crown Princess
Prince/Princess (aka Duke/Duchess)
Count/Countess
Baron/Baroness
Untitled Nobility
Emperor (medieval)
King (after 1903)
King (National arms design)
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King (Monarch's arms design)
King (Aragon, Catalonia, Balearics, Valencia)
Heir to the throne (Prince of Asturias)
Heir to the throne (Prince of Girona) (Aragon, Catalonia, Balearics, Valencia)
Infante
Infante (Aragon, Catalonia, Balearics, Valencia)
Grandee of Spain
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Duke
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Marquess
Count
Viscount
Baron
Señor/Don (Lord)
Hidalgo (Nobleman)
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Emperor
Heir to the throne (Prince Imperial)
Prince of Grão-Pará
Prince
Duke
Marquess
Count
Viscount
Baron
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Wali (1854 - 1867) and Khedive (1867 -1914)
Sultan (1914–22)
King (1922–53)
King of Upper and Lower Egypt
Hemhem
Atef
King of Lower Egypt
King of Upper Egypt
Queen
Shuti
Blue Crown
Cap Crown
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Archbishop or Bishop
Archdeacon
Dean
Members of His Majesty's Ecclesiastical Household
Canons, Honorary Canons, Canons Emeritus and Prebendaries
Priest
Deacon
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Eastern Catholic prelate, combining elements of both Eastern and Western ecclesiastical heraldry
Apostolic protonotary (Monsignor)
Honorary Prelate (Monsignor)
Chaplain of His Holiness (Monsignor)
Astral crown
Camp crown
Celestial crown
Eastern crown
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Mural crown
Naval crown
A crowned lion head in the arms of Kreis Biedenkopf, a county in Hesse, Germany (1832-1974)
The Three Crowns, as well as lions and leopards crowned, in the arms of Eric of Pomerania
Both lions and eagles crowned appear in the coat of arms of the Czech Republic.
A golden crown appears at the top of cross pattée in the coat of arms of Riga
Badge of the Unicorn Pursuivant, a unicorn gorged of a coronet
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