BRIDE-TO-BE Kate Middleton has been given a family coat of arms - which reflects the family’s love of the Lake District.

The heraldic design was commissioned by her father Michael Middleton ahead of her marriage to Prince William.

The arms consist of a lozenge suspended from a ribbon - used for an unmarried woman- with three acorns to represent Mr and Mrs Middleton's three children - Catherine, Pippa and James. Acorns symbolise the well-wooded area of West Berkshire where the children were brought up, a gold chevron refers to Mrs Carole Middleton, whose maiden name is Goldsmith.

And the narrower chevrons, which sit either side of the gold chevron, symbolise peaks and mountains, reflecting the Middleton’s love of outdoor pursuits - partiuclarly in the Lake District.

Thomas Woodcock, Garter Principal King of Arms, said: “Mr and Mrs Middleton and their children took enormous interest in this design and, while its purpose is to provide a traditional heraldic identity for Catherine, as she marries into the Royal Family, the intent was to represent the whole Middleton family together, their home and aspects of what they enjoy.”

Miss Middleton will be able to use the coat of arms up until her wedding day, after which it will be combined with that of Prince William.