Although displayed as a supporter of the Portuguese shield and not as part of it, it is controversial if the armillary sphere should be considered or not part of the main field of the new achievement. This achievement of arms was used in Portugal from 1815 to 1826 (despite Brazil having achieved independence in 1822, only when King John VI died in 1826 did Portugal revert to the use of the old coat of arms). Until the early 14th century, the achievement of arms of Portugal consisted solely in the shield, with no external elements surrounding it being represented. A crown over the shield started to appear in some representations of the Portuguese coat of arms in the 14th century. Initially, a crude open crown was represented, this evolving to a crown similar to the present coronet of duke, so consisting of a circlet surmounted by leaves. The crown come to appear more and more in the representations of the coat of arms of Portugal, becoming virtually inseparable from the Portuguese shield. In most of the cases the crown was represented laying directly over the shield, although in the rare occasions in which the helmet was represented, the crown was placed over it. From the 16th century until the establishment of the republican coat of arms in 1910, the Royal crown was virtually present in all representations of the coat of arms of Portugal, being also the only constant external element of the shield. In the reign of King Sebastian (1557-1578), the open Royal crown was replaced by a crown closed with a single arch. This latter evolved to a crown with two arches. The final model of heraldic crown was adopted in the reign of Peter II (1683-1706), this being a crown closed with four arches, surmounted by a globe topped with a cross. At the same time, the previous crown with two arches became the crown of the Prince apparent heir of the Portuguese crown. Other external elements surrounding the shield, started to be also represented in the Portuguese coat of arms from the 14th century, although none of them has reached the status of a constant element, as the Royal crown. One of the most important of these elements was the heraldic crest, which at least from the reign of John I became a dragon, probably associated to the adoption of Saint George as the patron saint of Portugal. Until the 17th century, the dragon was represented in "or", but since then, it started to be represented in "vert". This change of color was probably due to the ascension to the throne, in 1640, of the House of Braganza, which had the green as its livery color, this also becoming the national color of Portugal.