A coat of arms has been created for Meghan Markle featuring California’s state flower and a blue background to represent the Pacific Ocean.

Meghan, who is now known as the Duchess of Sussex, joined Britain’s royal family when she married Prince Harry at Windsor Castle home last Saturday.

Harry’s office said on Friday the design for her coat of arms had been approved by the Queen and Thomas Woodcock, the senior herald in England based at London’s College of Arms.

Meghan Markle’s coat of arms was released by Kensington Palace on Friday. Photograph: Kensington Palace

“Her Royal Highness worked closely with the College of Arms throughout the design process to create a coat of arms that was both personal and representative,” Kensington Palace said in a statement.

Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles and the statement said the blue background of the shield on her arms represented the Pacific Ocean off California’s coast while two golden rays were symbolic of the state’s sunshine.

It also features three quills which represent communication and the power of words while beneath the shield are a collection of golden poppies, California’s state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace where she now lives, the palace said.

Next to the shield are two “supporters“, one for her husband and one relating to her – a songbird with an open beak which also represents the power of communication.

“Good heraldic design is nearly always simple and the arms of the Duchess of Sussex stand well beside the historic beauty of the quartered British royal arms,” Woodcock said.

The technical description of the arms is “azure a feather bendwise argent quilled between two bendlets or all between two like feathers argent quilled or”.