The Queen's Beasts

The Queen's Beasts in Kew Gardens, London
The original Queen's Beasts in the Canadian Museum of History

The Queen's Beasts are ten heraldic statues depicting the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II. They were commissioned by the British Ministry of Works from sculptor James Woodford (who was paid the sum of £2,750 for the work) to stand in front of the temporary western annexe to Westminster Abbey for the Queen's coronation in 1953. The beasts are some six-foot (1.83 m) high, cast in plaster, and could not therefore be left in the open air. The beasts are: the lion of England, the griffin of Edward III, the falcon of the Plantagenets, the black bull of Clarence, the yale of Beaufort, the white lion of Mortimer, the White Greyhound of Richmond, the red dragon of Wales, the unicorn of Scotland, and the white horse of Hanover.

After the coronation, they were removed to the Great Hall in Hampton Court Palace and, in 1957, were relocated to St George's Hall at Windsor Castle. The beasts were taken into storage in April 1958 whilst their future was considered. It was eventually decided to offer them to the Commonwealth governments and 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 part of the statues to be coloured was their heraldic shields; but, for the celebrations of the Canadian federation in 1967, the statues were painted in their full heraldic colours. They are now in the care of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau.

In 1958, Sir Henry Ross, Chairman of the Distillers Company in Edinburgh, paid for Portland stone replicas of these statues, which are on display outside the Palm House at Kew Gardens. The beasts also served as models for topiary at Hall Place, Bexley. The original sculptures have been commemorated in the following forms: bone china figurines, cups and saucers, glass tray sets, plaster models, reclaimed material reproductions,[1] porcelain candlesticks, British postage stamps issued in 1998, silver tea spoons, and tea towels.

Queen's Beasts Coins

In 2016, The Royal Mint began to issue a range of bullion coins,[2] each depicting one of the Queen's Beasts. The first coin in the series depicts The Lion of England and was designed by Royal Mint coin designer Jody Clark. Jody also created the latest definitive coinage portrait of The Queen to appear on United Kingdom coins.

The range includes a 1 oz gold coin, a 1/4 oz gold coin and a two-ounce silver bullion coin. This is the first time an official two-ounce United Kingdom bullion coin has been struck.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Huntingdonshire artist recreates The Queen's beasts", Hunt Post, 19 May 2012, retrieved 12 June 2012
  2. ↑ "The Queen’s Beasts are brought to life in a new bullion coin range", Royal Mint Blog, 31 March 2016, retrieved 1 April 2016

External links

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