The Queen's Beasts are ten

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

statues representing the genealogy of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, depicted as the

Royal supporters of England The royal supporters of England are the heraldic supporter creatures appearing on each side of the royal arms of England. The royal supporters of the monarchs of England displayed a variety, or even a menagerie, of real and imaginary heraldic be ...

. They stood in front of the temporary western annexe to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

for the Queen's coronation in 1953. Each of the Queen's Beasts consists of a heraldic beast supporting a shield bearing a badge or arms of a family associated with the ancestry of Queen Elizabeth II. They were commissioned by the British Ministry of Works from the sculptor James Woodford, who was paid the sum of £2,750 for the work. They were uncoloured except for their shields at the coronation. They are now on display in the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

Gatineau, Quebec Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also par ...

. The original models are the King's Beasts which survive at

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

near London, sculpted in stone for King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

(1509–1547) and his third wife

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

. Copies survive at nearby

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

. In the 1920s a set of 76 similar heraldic beasts was replaced on the roof of

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal peculiar, Royal Peculia ...

, having been taken down in 1682 due to dilapidation.

Origins

There are ten heraldic beasts of a very like sort at

near London. They were restored at the beginning of the twentieth century but were derived from originals made in 1536/7 for King

and his third wife

(d.1537), and are known as the "King's Beasts". They are carved in stone and each sits erect, supporting a shield upon which there is a coat of arms or a heraldic badge. From the beasts themselves and the emblems which they carry on their shields, it is evident that they stood for King Henry and his third Queen, Jane Seymour. In the autumn of 1952, the Minister of Works, in preparation for the coronation some months ahead, called upon the

Royal Academician The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and sculptor James Woodford, to create ten new beasts similar in form and character to the ten at Hampton Court but more particularly, appropriate to the Queen. Exact replicas of those at Hampton Court would have been unsuitable for the occasion, for some of them would have little connection with Elizabeth II's own family or ancestry, as although the Queen is descended (via female lines) from King Henry VII (the father of King Henry VIII), she is not descended from Jane Seymour whose only son King

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

died unmarried.

Characteristics

The beasts are about six feet (1.8 m) high and weigh about 700 pounds (320 kg) each. They are made from

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

, so cannot be left exposed permanently to the elements. Originally uncoloured except for their shields, they are now fully painted.

Display at the coronation

The Beasts were on display outside the western annexe of

, a glass-fronted structure in which to marshal the long processions before the service. The statues were placed along the front with the exception of the Lion of England which was placed in the alcove formed by the north wall of the annexe and the entrance used by the Queen to enter the Abbey on her arrival in the Gold State Coach. The statues were placed left to right in the following order when facing the annexe from the west: The Lion of England, the greyhound, the yale, the dragon, the horse, the lion of Mortimer, the unicorn, the griffin, the bull, and the falcon. This was not the same order as they relate to the royal pedigree, but were ordered in this way for balance and symmetry in display. The Scottish Unicorn, Horse of Hanover, Griffin and Falcon replace four of the Beasts at Hampton Court (Seymour Black Lion, Seymour colour-spotted Panther & Seymour Unicorn and either the so-called Tudor Dragon or the Royal Dragon). Molly Guion painted the Beasts in 1953.

Relocations

After the coronation they were removed to the Great Hall in

. In 1957 they were moved again to St George's Hall, Windsor. The beasts were taken into storage in April 1958 while their future was considered. It was eventually decided to offer them to the Commonwealth governments; Canada, being the senior nation, was offered them first. In June 1959 the Canadian government accepted the beasts and they were shipped there in July. Originally the only coloured parts of the statues were their heraldic shields, but for the celebrations of the Centennial of Canadian Confederation in 1967, the statues were painted in their full heraldic colours. They are now in the care of the

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Replicas

In 1958 Sir Henry Ross, Chairman of the

Distillers Company The Distillers Company plc was a leading Scotch whisky company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over in 1986 by Guinness & Co. and is now part of Diageo. History The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, paid for

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

replicas of the statues to be made, which are on display outside the Palm House at

. The beasts also served as models for topiary at Hall Place, Bexley. The original sculptures have been commemorated in the following forms:

bone china Bone china is a type of vitreous, translucent pottery, the raw materials for which include bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from c ...

figurines, cups and saucers, glass tray sets, plaster models, reclaimed material reproductions, porcelain candlesticks, British postage stamps issued in 1998, silver teaspoons, and tea towels. In 2016 the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

launched a series of ten Queen's Beasts

coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

, one for each beast.

Historical explanations

The Lion of England

The Lion of England is the crowned golden

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, which has been one of the

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

of the Royal Arms since the reign of

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

(1461–1483). It supports a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

showing the Arms of the United Kingdom as they have been since

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's accession in 1837. In the first and last quarters of the shield are the arms of the

House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet (Help:IPA/English, /plænˈtædʒənət/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the Medieval France, French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by mo ...

(the "Lions of England", technically in heraldic language "Leopards of England"), taken from the arms of

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

(1157–1199), "The Lionheart". The lion and

tressure In heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, r ...

(armorial border) of Scotland appear in the second, and the Harp of Ireland is in the third.

The White Greyhound of Richmond

The White Greyhound of Richmond was a badge of

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399), was an English royal prince, military leader and statesman. He was the fourth son (third surviving) of King Edward III of England, and the father of King Henry IV. Because ...

, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Richmond, third son of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

. It was also used by his son Henry IV and especially by Henry VII. The Tudor double rose can be seen on the shield, one rose within another surmounted by a crown. It symbolizes the union of the two cadet houses of

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angev ...

– the

House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...

and the

House of Lancaster The House of Lancaster was a cadet branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. The first house was created when King Henry III of England created the Earldom of Lancasterfrom which the house was namedfor his second son Edmund Crouchback in 1267 ...

The Yale of Beaufort

The

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

was a mythical beast, supposedly white and covered with gold spots and able to swivel each of its horns independently. It descends to the Queen through Henry VII, who inherited it from his mother,

Lady Margaret Beaufort Lady Margaret Beaufort ( ; 31 May 1443 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late 15th century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first House of Tudor, Tudor monarch. She was also a second cousin o ...

. The shield shows a

portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...

surmounted by a royal crown. The portcullis (uncrowned) was a Beaufort

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fir ...

, but was used both crowned and uncrowned by Henry VII.

The Red Dragon of Wales

The red dragon () is an ancient Welsh symbol, and a badge used by

Owen Tudor Sir Owen Tudor (, – 2 February 1461) was a Welsh courtier and the second husband of Queen Catherine of Valois (1401–1437), widow of King Henry V of England. He was the grandfather of Henry VII, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Background ...

. His grandson, Henry VII, claimed descent from

Cadwaladr Cadwaladr ap Cadwallon (also spelled Cadwalader or Cadwallader in English) was king of Gwynedd in Wales from around 655 to 664 or 682. He died in one of two devastating plagues that happened in 664 and in 682. Little else is known of his reig ...

, the last of the line of Maelgwn whose association with the dragon came after Henry's reign. The beast holds a shield bearing a lion in each quarter; this was the coat of arms of

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ( – 11 December 1282), also known as Llywelyn II and Llywelyn the Last (), was List of rulers of Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd, and later was recognised as the Prince of Wales (; ) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 128 ...

, the last native Prince of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

The White Horse of Hanover

The White Horse of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

was introduced into the Royal Arms in 1714 when the crown of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

passed to the Elector George of Hanover. This grandson of Elizabeth Stuart, sister of Charles I, became George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland. The shield shows the leopards of England and the lion of Scotland in the first quarter, the fleur-de-lis of France in the second (brought into the

royal arms of England The coat of arms of England is the coat of arms historically used as arms of dominion by the monarchs of the Kingdom of England, and now used to symbolise England generally.: "The three golden lions upon a ground of red have certainly continued ...

by King Edward II) and the Irish harp in the third quarter. The fourth quarter shows the arms of Hanover.

The White Lion of Mortimer

The White Lion of Mortimer descends to the Queen through

, from

Anne de Mortimer Anne de Mortimer (27 December 1388 – 22 September 1411) was a medieval English noblewoman who became an ancestor to the royal House of York, one of the parties in the fifteenth-century dynastic Wars of the Roses. It was her line of descent w ...

. The shield shows a white rose encircled by a golden sun, known heraldically as a 'white rose en soleil' which is really a combination of two distinct badges. Both of these appear on the Great Seals of Edward IV and Richard III, and were used by

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

when Duke of York. Unlike the Lion of England, this beast is uncrowned.

The Unicorn of Scotland

From the end of the 16th century, two

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

s were adopted as the

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's free choice and were assu ...

s of the Scottish Royal Arms. In 1603 the crown of England passed to

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, who then became James I of England. He took as supporters of his royal arms a crowned lion of England and one of his Scottish unicorns. The unicorn holds a shield showing the

royal arms of Scotland Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roy ...

, a lion

rampant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a Charge (heraldry), charge, a Supporter (heraldry), supporter, or as a Crest (heraldry), crest. The attitude of a heraldic figure alwa ...

within a ''double tressure flory-counter-flory''.

The Griffin of Edward III

The

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

Queen's Beast is an ancient mythical beast. It was considered a beneficent creature, signifying courage and strength combined with guardianship, vigilance, swiftness and keen vision. It was closely associated with Edward III who engraved it on his private seal. The shield shows the Round Tower of

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

(where Edward III was born) with the

Royal Standard In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coat of arms, coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, ...

flying from the

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

, enclosed by two branches of oak surmounted by the royal crown.

The Black Bull of Clarence

The Black Bull of Clarence descended to the Queen through

. The shield shows the Royal Arms as they were borne by Edward IV and his brother

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

as well as all the sovereigns of the Houses of Lancaster and Tudor.

The Falcon of the Plantagenets

The

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

was first used by

of the

as his

. It descended to

, who took it as his personal badge, the falcon standing within an open fetterlock. Originally closed, the slightly open fetterlock is supposed to refer to the struggle Edward IV had to obtain the throne — "he forced the lock and won the throne."

Gallery

The Queen's Beasts - The Lion of England.jpg, Lion of England The Queen's Beasts - The White Greyhound of Richmond.jpg, White Greyhound of Richmond The Queen's Beasts - The Yale of Beaufort.jpg, Yale of Beaufort The Queen's Beasts - The Red Dragon of Wales.jpg, Red Dragon of Wales The Queen's Beasts - The White Horse of Hanover.jpg, White Horse of Hanover The Queen's Beasts - The White Lion of Mortimer.jpg, White Lion of Mortimer The Queen's Beasts - The Unicorn of Scotland.jpg, Unicorn of Scotland The Queen's Beasts - The Griffin of Edward III.jpg, Griffin of Edward III The Queen's Beasts - The Black Bull of Clarence.jpg, Black Bull of Clarence The Queen's Beasts - The Falcon of the Plantagenets.jpg, Falcon of the Plantagenets The Queen’s Beasts, 1998.jpg, 1998 Queen's Beasts stamp series

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Canadian Museum of History: A Queen and Her Country
(includes colour images of the Queen's Beasts)
Queen's Beasts Coins on Royal Mint Bullion

Photo of The Queen's Beasts in front of the annexe

Queen's Beasts And Robes (1953)

Abbey Coronation Annexe Newsreel (1952)

The Queen's Beasts Silver Coins by Royal Mint

The Queen's Beasts Gold Coins by Royal Mint

Picture of Molly Guion painting the Queen's Beasts in 1953
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen's Beasts, The Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten Lions in heraldry Animal sculptures in the United Kingdom Outdoor sculptures in London Sculptures of birds Sculptures of bovines Sculptures of dogs Sculptures of lions Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Heraldic beasts 1953 sculptures