Queen's Beasts

The Queen's Beasts are ten heraldic statues representing the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II. They stood in front of the temporary western annex to Westminster Abbey for the Queen's coronation in 1953. Each of The Queen's Beasts consists of an 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 sculptor James Woodford (who was paid the sum of £2,750 for the work). They were uncoloured except for their shields at the coronation.

There are ten heraldic beasts of a very like sort at Hampton Court Palace near London. They were restored at the beginning of the twentieth century but were derived from originals made more than 400 years ago for Henry VIII, and are generally called '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 great event some months ahead, called upon the Royal Academician and sculptor Mr [later Sir] James Woodford, OBE, 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 Her Majesty's own family or ancestry.

The beasts are some six feet (1.8 m) high and weigh about 700 pounds (320 kg) each. They are works in plaster, and so cannot be left exposed to the elements. Originally uncolored except for their shields, they are now fully painted.

The Beasts were on display outside the western annexe of Westminster Abbey. The annexe was a glass fronted construction 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. It was placed in the alcove formed by the North wall of the annex 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 annex 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 are in the royal pedigree, but were ordered in this way for balance and symmetry in display.

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