Scottish Thistle Brooch - B121

The Thistle was used by the early Kings of Scotland as their personal heraldic crest and is borne by the Arms of the Realm and by a number of ancient Scottish clans and families as part of their coats of arms. In 1687 James II instituted the Order of the Thistle as a distinctly Scottish Order of Knighthood. This order is now one of the oldest of all surviving British orders.