Origins in British history The lion and the unicorn lyrics date from 1603 when King James VI of Scotland became James I of England unifying the Scottish and English crowns . The virgin Queen Elizabeth 1 named the son of Mary Queen of Scots, James, as her heir. The new union of the two countries required a new royal coat of arms combining those of England which featured two lions, and Scotland, whose coat of arms featured two Unicorns. A compromise was made thus the British coat of arms has one Lion and one Unicorn. |