1. The King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany
By decree of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Ottaviano de’ Medici di Toscana di Ottajano, issued in Florence on 22 July 2025, Don Francisco Acedo Fernández, Count Galeano Doria, was invested with the civic dignity of King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany and appointed a member of the Privy Council of the Crown.
The King of Arms is the Heraldic Officer of the Royal House and performs functions of certification, registration, consultation, and research in matters of heraldry, genealogy, and nobiliary law. In the exercise of his duties, he designs, regulates, and registers personal, family, corporate, ecclesiastical, and municipal coats of arms, verifies their historical legitimacy, and issues the corresponding official certifications.
His responsibilities also include the study and certification of genealogies and matters of nobiliary status; the preparation of expert reports and technical opinions; collaboration with the Grand Ducal Deputation on Nobility and Citizenship in verifying candidates for the Medicean Cittadinario; and the safeguarding of the heraldic heritage of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany.
The King of Arms also directs the Heraldic and Genealogical Archive of the Minutario, the official archive of the Royal House, in which the original records of certifications and other instruments falling within his competence are registered and preserved, thereby ensuring their authenticity, traceability, and permanent preservation.
The exercise of these functions is founded upon respect for the Tuscan heraldic tradition, genealogical scholarship, and nobiliary law, in accordance with principles of historical rigour, impartiality, and technical independence.
2. The Certification of Arms
The Certification of Arms is the public instrument by which the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany attests to the grant, confirmation, or recognition of a coat of arms, in accordance with the principles of heraldic science, the applicable nobiliary legislation, and the traditions, usages, and customs of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany.
The following may be the subject of a Certification of Arms:
- Historic coats of arms, belonging to individuals, families, bodies, or institutions, whose existence and lawful entitlement are established by appropriate historical, genealogical, or heraldic documentation.
- New grants of arms, whose blazon and heraldic composition are devised by the King of Arms according to the principles of heraldic science, with due regard for the tradition of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany and taking into account the history, personality, and characteristics of the applicant.
- Confirmations of coats of arms previously granted or certified by other Officers of Arms belonging to sovereign States or Sovereign Houses. In such cases, the original certification or other official documentation issued by the competent authority must be submitted so that the King of Arms may proceed with the corresponding confirmation and registration.
The Certification of Arms identifies the lawful bearer of the coat of arms, describes its blazon in the technical language of heraldry, and reproduces its official heraldic representation, thereby constituting a reference document for the safeguarding and preservation of heraldic heritage.
Certifications of Arms are prepared in accordance with the graphic and documentary conventions of the historic Tuscan armorials, from which they draw their style, composition, formal elegance, and the principles characteristic of the finest heraldic tradition of Medicean Tuscany.
All heraldic representations are executed by Don Nikolai López Pomar, Heraldic Artist of the Grand Ducal Deputation on Nobility and Citizenship and Pursuivant to the King of Arms, as well as the artist responsible for the official coats of arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany.
The registration of arms with the King of Arms constitutes a necessary requirement for families intended to be entered in the Golden Books of Tuscany. This requirement is founded, first and foremost, upon the provisions of the Tuscan Nobiliary Law of 1750, which prescribed the submission of the coat of arms together with documentation establishing the nobiliary status of the family.
Such registration also, and above all, responds to a specific editorial, historical, and documentary need: to ensure that all coats of arms intended to appear in the heraldic appendix to the Golden Book are represented in a uniform graphic style consistent with that of the historic arms contained in the ancient Golden Books and armorials preserved in the State Archives of Florence.
The prior verification, registration, and reproduction of arms by the Office of the King of Arms therefore prevents the inclusion of representations that are heterogeneous, modern, or inconsistent with tradition, thereby ensuring that the armorial appendix as a whole maintains visual unity, heraldic rigour, and continuity with the historic documentary models of Tuscany.
For these reasons, members of the Tuscan Nobility and of the Sacred and Military Distinguished Religion of Saint Stephen, Pope and Martyr, are required to register their arms in order for them to be included in the Golden Books of Tuscany. Registration therefore constitutes an indispensable requirement not only for regular enrolment and recognition of nobiliary status within the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany, but also for preserving the graphic uniformity, editorial dignity, and historical authenticity of the armorial.
An application for a Certification of Arms may be submitted by any natural or legal person seeking the grant of a new coat of arms, the recognition of a historic coat of arms, or the confirmation of a coat of arms previously granted or certified by another competent heraldic authority.
Each Certification of Arms is signed by the King of Arms and bears his official seal of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany. Once issued, it is legalised in the Kingdom of Spain, entered in the Minutario of the King of Arms, and preserved in the Archive of the Heraldic and Genealogical Register of the Minutario of the King of Arms and of the Grand Ducal Deputation on the Nobility and Citizenship of Tuscany in the Kingdom of Spain, as a guarantee of its authenticity, documentary continuity, and permanent preservation.
3. The Genealogical Certification
The Genealogical Certification is the official document by which the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany attests to the line of descent, relationships of kinship, and genealogical legitimacy of an individual, family, or house, on the basis of thorough documentary research and the critical analysis of historical sources.
The certification is drawn up on the basis of duly verified documents, including parish registers, notarial records, civil registers, archival documentation, bibliographical sources, and any other evidence suitable for establishing the genealogical continuity of the lineage under examination.
The Genealogical Certification may concern ascending or descending genealogies, the reconstruction of family lines, the identification of common ancestors, the demonstration of relationships of kinship, as well as the historical reconstruction of houses and lineages of particular genealogical, heraldic, or nobiliary interest.
It may also serve as the documentary basis for the subsequent issuance of certifications of arms or nobiliary certifications and constitutes an essential instrument for safeguarding family memory, preserving the history of lineages, and transmitting their historical heritage to future generations.
Each Genealogical Certification is signed by the King of Arms and bears his official seal. Once issued, it is legalised in the Kingdom of Spain, entered in the Minutario of the King of Arms, and preserved in the Archive of the Heraldic and Genealogical Register of the Minutario of the King of Arms and of the Grand Ducal Deputation on the Nobility and Citizenship of Tuscany in the Kingdom of Spain, as a guarantee of its authenticity, documentary continuity, and permanent preservation.
4. Nobiliary Certifications
Nobiliary Certifications are the official documents by which the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany attests, within the scope of his competence, to the nobiliary status of an individual or family, or to the existence, lawful succession, recognition, or confirmation of titles of nobility, dignities, territorial designations, and other nobiliary distinctions.
Such certifications are issued following a thorough documentary investigation based on the critical examination of historical, genealogical, heraldic, and legal sources, as well as of the documentation submitted by the applicant.
They may concern, among other matters, the recognition of foreign titles of nobility as Tuscan titles, the confirmation of nobiliary dignities, membership of the Tuscan Nobility, the recognition of historic patriciates, and any other matter of nobiliary status falling within the competence of the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany.
Nobiliary Certifications constitute the documentary basis for entry in the Golden Books of Tuscany and in the other nobiliary registers of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany, where the applicable requirements are fulfilled.
Each Nobiliary Certification is signed by the King of Arms and bears his official seal. Once issued, it is legalised in the Kingdom of Spain, entered in the Minutario of the King of Arms, and preserved in the Archive of the Heraldic and Genealogical Register of the Minutario of the King of Arms and of the Grand Ducal Deputation on the Nobility and Citizenship of Tuscany in the Kingdom of Spain, as a guarantee of its authenticity, documentary continuity, and permanent preservation.
5. The Minutario of the King of Arms
The Minutario of the King of Arms of the Grand Duke of Tuscany constitutes the official public record in which all Certifications of Arms, Genealogical Certifications, and Nobiliary Certifications issued under the sovereign authority of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany, through his King of Arms, are registered.
Once issued and legalised in the Kingdom of Spain, all certifications are deposited and preserved in the Archive of the Heraldic and Genealogical Register of the Minutario of the King of Arms and of the Grand Ducal Deputation on the Nobility and Citizenship of Tuscany in the Kingdom of Spain, established pursuant to Article 4.9 of the Statutes of the Lieutenancy for Spain of the Grand Ducal House of Medici, which was established by Grand Ducal Decree issued in Florence on 24 May 2025 and recognised by the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Spain by an official act dated 25 September 2025.
The Minutario constitutes a permanent archive for the preservation of the original master copies of the certifications and their related documentation. It guarantees the authenticity, documentary continuity, institutional accessibility, and traceability of the instruments issued by the King of Arms, ensuring their preservation for future generations.
Through the Minutario, the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany renews its commitment to safeguarding the heraldic, genealogical, and nobiliary tradition, placing its documentary heritage at the service of scholars, historic families, and all those who wish to preserve and transmit the memory of their lineage.
6. Conclusion
The Certifications of Arms, Genealogical Certifications, and Nobiliary Certifications issued by the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany are promulgated under the sovereign authority of His Royal Highness Grand Duke Ottaviano de’ Medici di Toscana di Ottajano, who actively and legitimately exercises his Fons Honorum by virtue of Tuscan Law of Honours, legitimate dynastic practice, and established doctrine of International Law.
The nobiliary, heraldic, chivalric, and honorific grants issued under his authority are fully valid and effective and require no recognition by any State authority.
All certifications are issued in accordance with Tuscan Law of Honours and, in particular, with the Law of 31 July 1750 on the Nobility and Citizenship of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, its implementing provisions, and the regulations of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany applicable to each particular case.
For further information on Certifications of Arms, Genealogical Certifications, and Nobiliary Certifications, as well as on the application procedure, please visit the official website of the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany, www.reydearmas.com, where a dedicated application and consultation form is available.
Example of a Certification of Arms
Reproduced below is a Certification of Arms issued by the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany.
The Certification of Arms is drawn up in accordance with the official model adopted by the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany and constitutes a solemn Grant of Arms, bringing together heraldic tradition, Tuscan Law of Honours, and modern documentary practice.
The document includes the style of the granting authority, the full titles of the King of Arms, the recital of the relevant facts, the blazon drawn up in accordance with the tradition of the historic Tuscan armorials, a description of the prerogatives pertaining to the coat of arms, the legal basis of the certification, the clause providing for its registration in the Minutario of the King of Arms, as well as the autograph signature and official seal of the King of Arms.
Each Certification of Arms bears a unique sequential number, is legalised in the Kingdom of Spain, and is entered in the Minutario of the King of Arms, where it is permanently preserved as a historic and public document of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany.
The example below illustrates the structure, content, and formal characteristics of the Certifications of Arms issued by the King of Arms of the Grand Ducal House of Medici of Tuscany.
