England are back on the biggest stage once again, taking on Argentina for a place in the 2026 World Cup final. As always, millions of fans will sing about the “Three Lions” before kickoff (check out below if you’re not familiar with it). But here’s the strange part: historians say the famous animals on England’s badge technically aren’t lions at all.

Well... sort of.

It all comes down to a quirk of medieval heraldry, where the rules for describing animals were very different from the way we’d describe them today. The creatures on England’s badge have always represented lions, but for centuries they were actually referred to as “leopards.”

Before we go any further, here’s the song:

Why are England’s Three Lions actually called leopards?

The confusion isn’t, therefore, a zoology thing.

In medieval heraldry, the position of the animal mattered just as much as the animal itself. A lion standing upright on its hind legs was simply called a lion. But a lion walking on all fours while looking directly at the viewer, known as passant guardant, was traditionally described by French heralds as a “leopard.”

That doesn’t mean England’s badge ever featured spotted big cats.

The “leopard” was simply a technical heraldic term for a lion in that particular pose. The animals were always intended to be lions. In fact, the Football Association still officially describes them as three lions passant guardant, preserving the centuries-old heraldic wording.

Over time, English writers gradually stopped using the word “leopard.” By the late 14th century, they were almost universally referring to the royal beasts as lions instead, even though French heralds continued calling them leopards for much longer.

Where did England’s Three Lions come from?

The story predates football by almost 700 years.

The emblem evolved during the reigns of England’s Norman and Plantagenet kings. Henry I used a single lion, while additional lions were added through royal marriages before Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart, adopted the famous shield featuring three gold lions on a red background around the end of the 12th century. It quickly became the Royal Arms of England and has remained part of the monarchy’s heraldry ever since.

When the Football Association was founded in 1863, it adopted the royal emblem as the basis for its own badge. England first wore the crest in their inaugural international against Scotland in 1872.

Today’s version isn’t identical to the royal coat of arms. The lions are blue instead of gold, ten Tudor roses were added after the FA received its own coat of arms in 1949, and since England’s 1966 World Cup triumph a single star has appeared above the crest.

So the next time someone insists England should really be called “The Three Leopards,” they’re only half right. The badge has always represented lions, but thanks to the wonderfully confusing world of medieval heraldry, the animals spent centuries being officially described as leopards.

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