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The Rose, whether red or white, has long been a royal emblem for England, first introduced by Eleanor of Provence (Queen Consort of Henry III) as a royal badge in the early 13th-century; she used the golden rose of Provence.

From 1455-87, there arose a series of civil wars between the descendants of Edward III for the throne of England. These were allied to Lancaster and York, and they took the red rose and the white rose as their respective badges.

Henry VII (a Lancastrian) who won the battle of Bosworth in 1485 and defeated Richard III, founded the Tudor dynasty and married Margaret of York. He thus combined the red and white roses in a new emblem called the Tudor Rose. This still features on the 20p piece in England. 

The fleur-de-lis, identified as a lily by the Council of Trent (1545) was first encountered as an emblem of French royalty in the reign of Louis VII (1120-80).

When Edward III of England, whose mother was Isabella of France, began to claim the throne of France for England's kings, the fleur-de-lis began to be used in the Royal Arms of England.

They feature as one of the royal emblems on the arms of King's College, Cambridge, and are found all over the chapel.