What Does The Queen Crest Mean?

British rock band Queen was founded in 1968, and became one of the biggest bands in the decades that followed. Just like the band's name, their logo — called the Queen crest — is fit for royalty. The design was created shortly before the release of Queen's self-titled debut album in 1973, and it was designed by none other than the band's frontman, Freddie Mercury.

Mercury is, no doubt, a talented musician and singer. However, his skills don't stop there. In fact, he was studying graphic art design at the Ealing College of Art when Queen was formed (via Freddie Mercury). He used his artistic skills to create the iconic crest, which appeared on the covers of a few of the band's albums. It's not surprising that the band would choose a crest as their logo, and Mercury put a lot of thought behind its creation and symbolism.

Freddie Mercury turned to zodiac signs for inspiration in creating the Queen crest. Two of the members — Roger Taylor and John Deacon — have the sign Leo, and they are represented by the lions on either side of the crest. Brian May, on the other hand, is a Cancer, which is signified by the crab resting on top of the "Q." Lastly, Freddie Mercury is represented by the two fairies for Virgo. It isn't known why there are two fairies, but it was most likely to add symmetry to the crest, according to Express.

The zodiac sign representations are designed around the "Q" with a crown, and on top is a phoenix. The phoenix has various meanings in different cultures, but it is mainly associated with rebirth, hope, and transformation, per World Birds. The first version of the Queen crest was a simple line drawing on the band's first album, but more colorful and detailed versions were used for the subsequent designs.