Noting conflict, the Imperial Household announces new arms

 NOVO ASHUKOVO, Rhōmanía (RNA)

HOIRM Basileús Emmanuel I & II issued a decree today updating the arms of the Imperial Household.

According to the decree, the new blazon of the House of Afentoulis, Imperial Family of Rhōmanía, is Argent, a double-headed eagle displayed Azure, within a bordure compony of Azure and Argent. This replaces the borderless version the house had used since 2017.

The change follows an apparent conflict of arms with the extinct Swiss family of von Schlatt (also recorded as Slat). Their arms appear in the Zürich armorial, a roll compiled around 1340, as Argent, a double-headed eagle displayed Azure—the same field and charge House Afentoulis adopted in 2017. Those arms are still used by the municipality of Schlatt bei Winterthur in the district of Winterthur, canton of Zürich, presumably derived from the family.

Arms of the Slat/von Schlatt family

Schlatt bei Winterthur municipality

The two designs are not identical: the Schlatt eagle has a red beak and legs, while the Afentoulis eagle is entirely azure. Those differences, in a heraldic context, were judged insufficient to avoid a conflict. The new bordure of alternating azure and argent therefore distinguishes the arms of the Imperial House from their Swiss counterparts.

New arms of House Afentoulis: Argent, a double-headed eagle displayed Azure, within a bordure compony of Azure and Argent

This is not the first change of arms for the house, though the decree presents it as the last. As Imperial Family of the Tsardom of Ashukovo from 2014 to 2017, House Afentoulis used Argent, a pile Azure charged with a lozenge Argent—a white shield with a stylized “A.”

Arms of House Afentoulis 2014-2017

After Ashukovo was restructured into the Second Federal Republic, the family turned to internal affairs in Mouzilo and later Rhōmanía. New arms were then adopted to reflect family origins in Asia Minor and its seat in Greece. A double-headed eagle replaced the stylized “A.” Those arms remained in use for nine years, until today’s update.

Arms of House Afentoulis 2017-2026

Souces close to the Household said the revised achievement takes effect immediately on seals, standards, and official stationery. Existing flags and other renderings may remain in use until they are replaced in the ordinary course of wear. Court sources described the bordure as a conservative difference rather than a new identity, intended to preserve the eagle that has marked the family since 2017 while placing the arms beyond reasonable challenge in any future roll or comparison. Likewise, the Imperial Coat of Arms, until now bearing the borderless inescutcheon, is expected to be modified. No further alteration of the Imperial arms is contemplated.