Sleeping Beauty Castle’s magic comes from its details: the real gold plating along its turrets, the stained-glass windows, and the colorful stone. Walk across the drawbridge and you’ll see one of those details up close, just above the archway.
This fixture wasn’t original to the castle; it was added in 1965. Many sources, including Wikipedia, claim this is the Disney family coat of arms. But is it?
Source: English Gathering
If you research the Disney coat of arms, you’ll find this version: 3 fleur de lis, not 3 stacked lions. This image traces back to the d’Isigny line (Anglicized to Disney), which came to England at the time of William the Conqueror.
Source: Wikipedia
The castle’s coat bears a lot of resemblance to the Royal Arms of England, pictured above. Perhaps Walt liked the idea of a generic marker, especially one resembling the crest of many famous kings and queens.
So, did Walt find a coat of arms for a family line not connected to the d’Isignys? Did he design a fictional one for Phillip and Aurora? Is it for Disneyland? (It also appears on Cinderella’s castle in the Magic Kingdom, to add to the mystery). Or did he just invent one for his own family? Unfortunately, the true meaning behind this prominently displayed symbol may have been lost with Walt in 1966.
I think that you will find the answer to your question here on the BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67102341
Footage of Disney visiting Norton Disney in 1949 was released to mark the 100th anniversary of the Disney company and it was confirmed that the crest is indeed the one that Walt saw when he visited the village. Source: The Lincolnshire village honoured in every Disney film since 2006 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67102341
The three lions stacked are the original D’Isgny (Disney) coat of arms brought over from France to England during the Norman conquest of 1066. At some point in history it had changed to the three wheat ghents. Not sure why. It also changed again when some of the Disney family moved from England to Ireland when a clover was added to it. Both Walt Disney and I are direct descendants of Lambert D’Isgny (Disney) Suhard (High Sheriff of Norton Disney in Lincolnshire England) who was the brother of Hugues D’Isgny (Disney) Suhard who came over to England to fight in 1066 for William the Conqueror. The three lion crest is all over the church in Norton Disney and is even carved on the tomb tops of our ancestors who were buried inside the church.
Are they not Fleur de lys?
I am not trying to challenge your knowledge of history, but if the three Fleurs De lis and three lions got changed from one to the other, it was more likely that the fleurs de lis (French) would have been switched to Lions (English) when the family came from France to England.
My grandfather was a painter at Disney for many decades and was one of the painters who originally painted Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. He painted our family crest on the back. He never told anyone until years after he retired. There are three crests side by side, and our is the one with the blue background and white fleur de lis.
Huh! I just took Steve Martin’s word for it in the 50th special, I never looked it up! Very curious indeed!
xoxo
-Janey