Princess Diana's Lozenge
Heraldry Of Women:
A married woman bears on a shield, standard kinds, her paternal arms marshalled (for more information on marshalling click HERE) with those of her husband. Typically the husband's arms are displayed in the Dexter half (left half) and the wife's arms are displayed in the Siniste half (right half). This is termed as being in pretence. Sometimes the wife will impale her shield on her husband's, but pretence display is more common.
A widow continues to bear the combined arms of her late husband and herself on a standard shield, but she places them on a larger lozenge without helm or crest. The lozenge is split in half, in relation to the shield, and colored black for the decedent and white for the living spouse; this kind of display is known as Funeral Hatchments.
A women whose marriage has been dissolved bears on a lozenge her paternal arms charged for distinction with a mascle (a hollowed diamond shape), which may be of any metal or color and placed wherever convenient. If she remarries, the mascle is removed.
Women that are peeress in their own right bear their hereditary arms on a lozenge, with coronet and supporters without helm or crest.
Unmarried daughters bear their paternal arms, including the quarterings and any mark of cadency the father may use, but they add not mark of cadency to denote their own relative position in the family. They bear the arms on lozenges, without the crest or accessories. The lozenge was in use as early as the 15th century. It is a most inconvenient form for the purpose of displaying armorial bearings, frequently resulting in inartistic distortion of the design. A permissible variation is a roundle or oval shield. The lozenge of an unmarried woman sometimes has a not of ribbon on top, but this is merely decoration.
Example Of A Womens Achievement:
Designing Arms:
When women design their own shield, if they do not have any paternal arms, they may use any charge or design they wish. To learn more on design click HERE.