Aprivate officer of arms is one of theheralds andpursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle allheraldic andgenealogical questions.

Since the development of heraldry in the Middle Ages and the rise ofofficers of arms, noble families have appointed heralds and pursuivants to look after the correct marshalling of theircoats of arms and research genealogical links. Many noblemen inBritain retained heralds from about 1170 onwards, as did importantknights such asSir John Chandos. The heralds were originally concerned with war and tournaments and identifying people by their arms. As such, they naturally developed an interest in genealogy. Formerly, theLord of the Isles hadRoss Herald andIslay Pursuivant. On the forfeiture of the Lordship these became, and remain, Royal Officers. In 1725,Blanc Coursier Herald was created to servePrince William, Duke of Cumberland, and the tabard of the office includes Prince Williams differenced arms. Today, most officers of arms are employed by state heraldic authorities. There are, however, some private officers that still exist.

InScotland, there are four privatepursuivants of arms that are recognized by theCourt of the Lord Lyon King of Arms. These are appointed byclan chiefs to look after matters of clan heraldry and genealogy. The five currently recognized private Scottish pursuivants are listed below:

• Slains Pursuivant, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms ofHay – currently theEarl of Erroll,Lord High Constable of Scotland
• Garioch Pursuivant, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms ofMar – currently theCountess of Mar
• Endure Pursuivant, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms ofLindsay – currently theEarl of Crawford & Balcarres
• Finlaggan Pursuivant, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Macdonald and High Chief ofClan Donald – currently theLord Macdonald of Slate. This post was revived, after five centuries in August 2005

In 10 November 1962Fernando Muñoz Altea was appointedKing of Arms of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies by the claimantPrince Ranieri, Duke of Castro, and Head of the Royal House.^[1] The Kingdom of Sicily did not have actual heralds (to grant coats of arms and issue certificates of nobility) in recent times, but rather a Commission for Titles of Nobility based in Naples until 1861.^[2] This commission concerned itself with administration of certain nobiliary institutions and recognition of titles of nobility.^[3] Muñoz Altea continued this tradition as a Private Officer of Arms of the Royal House. In addition to his office as King of Arms, Muñoz Altea was a delegate of theSacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.^[4] He died in Mexico City on March 2, 2018.

• Heraldry
• Officer of Arms
• King of Arms
• Herald of Arms
• Pursuivant of Arms
• The College of Arms
• The Court of the Lord Lyon
• The Canadian Heraldic Authority
• The Chief Herald of Ireland

• The Court of the Lord Lyon
• The College of Arms
• The Canadian Heraldic Authority
• The Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland

• Officers of arms

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata