Great Seal, in the United Kingdom, is used to indicate the monarch’s approval on state documents. Every monarch has his or her own special Great Seal, in addition to the privy seal and the signet. The first royal seal was Edward the Confessor’s. William the Conqueror’s seal represented the king mounted and armed. After the conquest of England, he added a counterseal with a picture of himself enthroned. Later, the picture of the king enthroned became the obverse (front) of the seal and the king on horseback the reverse (back). The lord chancellor is the keeper of the Great Seal. When a monarch dies, the seal is broken, and a new one is made. Many nations use seals to symbolize their sovereignty.
