points were removed from the shield during the reign of John II. The castles or over a bordure gules were introduced by King Afonso III as a charge of the coat of arms of Portugal. Initially the bordure was charged with a semée of castles, but in the early 16th century the number of castles was reduced to eight and later was fixed at seven. There is a common myth that the bordure with castles represent the Portuguese reconquest of Algarve from the Moors, which was completed during the reign of Afonso III. However, today it is commonly accepted that the bordure of castles was taken by Afonso III from the arms of his mother (Urraca of Castile) and used by him as a differentiation of the arms of Portugal because its legitimate user would be his brother Sancho II. The castles were also later used as augmentations of honor. Personal and family heraldry Royal heraldry Royal heraldry refers to the coats of arms of the members of the Portuguese Royal Family, including the Monarchs, the consorts, the princes and the infantes. Until the 14th century, no clear rules existed for Portuguese royal heraldry. However, it was a practice of the children of the Monarchs to use a variation of the royal coat of arms (at that time field argent, five escutcheons azur with each semée of plates). This variation could be obtained by rearranging the elements of the Royal Coat of Arms and/or by adding to it additional elements as ordinaries or bordures. The main currently accepted theory is that the present coat of arms of Portugal was precisely originated in one of these variations, used by the future Afonso III while he was merely the brother of King Sancho II. This theory assumes that the future Afonso III assumed a coat of arms that consisted of the royal coat of arms augmented with a gules border semée with castles or, taken from the arms of his mother Urraca of Castile, this coat of arms being maintained after Afonso III deposed Sancho II and assumed the throne in 1248, becoming the Royal Arms of Portugal. In the 14th century, the royal coat of arms started to be represented topped by a crown. Later, a crest was introduced, this being a dragon or. In the reign of John I, a system of cadency for the coat of arms of his