The surprising story behind the Real Madrid shield: What is its meaning?

The Real Madrid crest is one of the best known worldwide. The symbol of the merengue club has a great history, since it has undergone modifications throughout it. The capital's team was founded in 1902, but at that time it was called Madrid Football Club, and the shield only had the initials M, C and F, forming a spherical shape with the letter M in purple.

Some historians have attributed the purple color that Real Madrid has always had to its connection with the Second Republic, but the truth is that that color was already used in the first symbol, in 1902. In 1908 the shield would be modified forming the circle with the letters that has remained until today.

It was not until 1920 that King Afonso XIII of Spain granted him the title of Royal, and therefore he began to carry on his shield the symbol of the Royal House, the Crown, and came to be called as we know it now. In the Second Republic, the club had to eliminate the symbolism of the Monarchy, since the Kings went into exile and the team became controlled by the Popular Front, very belligerent against the Monarchy.

After the Civil War, in which the Republicans were defeated, Real Madrid once again recovered the crown on its shield and kept it up to the present time. The subsequent changes that the shield has undergone have been more aesthetic than anything else, with the exception of the great change in the color of the purple stripe, which happened to be razul in 1998 until now. There was no official explanation for this change, although many speculate that they wanted to do so to dissociate themselves from any possible political symbology.