Great Seal of the Realm

The Great Seal of the Realm is a seal that is used in the United Kingdom to symbolise the sovereign's approval of state documents. It is also known as the Great Seal of the United Kingdom (known prior to the Treaty of Union of 1707 as the Great Seal of England; and from then until the Union of 1801 as the Great Seal of Great Britain). To make it, sealing wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix and impressed into a wax figure that is attached by cord or ribbon to documents that the monarch wishes to seal officially. The formal keeper of the seal is the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain.

Scotland has had its own great seal since the 14th century. The Acts of Union 1707, joining the kingdoms of Scotland and England, provided for the use of a single Great Seal for the new Kingdom of Great Britain.^[1] However, it also provided for the continued use of a separate Scottish seal to be used there, and this seal continues to be called the Great Seal of Scotland and used by the monarch to sign letters patent for bills of the Scottish Parliament. Similarly, a separate Great Seal of Ireland, which had been used in Ireland since the 13th century, continued in use after the union of 1801, until the secession of the Irish Free State, after which a new Great Seal of Northern Ireland was created for use in Northern Ireland. A new Welsh Seal was introduced in 2011.