DIEU ET MON DROIT, i.e., God and my Right, the motto of the royal arms of England, first assumed by Richard I. to intimate that he did not hold his empire in vassalage of any mortal. It was afterwards assumed by Edward III., and was continued without interruption to the time of William, who used the motto Je maintiendray, though the former was still retained upon the great seal. After him Anne used the motto Semper eadem, which had been before used by Elizabeth; but ever since the time of Anne, Dieu et mon Droit has continued to be the royal motto.