The Queen's Beasts (not especially arty farty this Friday!)

Today's topic might be of no great general interest, but is about something I've investigated and want to record, for future reference.

Around a year ago, husband and I were trawling through a couple of antique stores in a town just to the west of Oklahoma City; on our way out of town we spotted a newly opened small store, popped in to take a look around. It was a bit on the junky side. Just one item grabbed my attention: a big, shallow, display box framed and glassed in, containing 10 decorated glass dishes (each around 4.5 inches square), set in two rows on a background of red velvet. The frame had seen better days, scratched and needing repair to one corner. The little dishes had survived in good condition. They made up a full set, depicting what are known as The Queen's Beasts.
The Queen's Beasts portray the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II in heraldic form.

I found this photograph of a similar set on an old auction website online

How this item had arrived in Oklahoma is anyone's guess! Having always had an interest in heraldry, I was keen to know its price. The store owner stalled when we enquired, saying that, as he didn't know the significance of the item he had asked a friend to investigate, and was not in a position to quote a price. I suspected he already had a buyer in mind, perhaps another, posher, antique store.

Back home I Googled - like ya do - discovered that the glass dish set, produced by a London company called Georama, probably during the 1970s, was very possibly issued ahead of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

Intrigued, I found that it'd be possible to find at least some of the individual glass trays for sale in either the UK or USA on E-bay or Etsy, not a full set though. Individual prices varied from just a few pounds sterling in the UK to around $20 in the US. Mailing costs for such delicate items, either nationally or internationally makes the deals quite uneconomical. I shall content myself, instead, with this blog post. Maybe one day I'll invest in a single little dish and have it framed. The one shown, left, was for sale at Etsy recently.

So... illustrations of the 10 Queen's Beasts.


For these pics and brief descriptions I owe a hat-tip to this heraldic forum.

The Lion of England

“The crowned golden lion of England has been one of the supporters of the Royal Arms since the accession of James I in 1603. The shield shows the Royal Arms as they have been borne since Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837. In the first and last quarters are the lions of England; the lion and tressure (a double frame) of Scotland appear in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third. Richard Lion-heart, son of Henry II, probably first chose 3 golden lions set one above each on a red field as the Royal Arms of England. Since then, these lions have appeared on the coat of arms of every sovereign of this country.”

The Unicorn of Scotland

“From the end of the 16th century, two unicorns were adopted as the supporters of the Scottish Royal Arms. In 1603, the crown of England passed to James VI of Scotland, 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 a lion ramping in a royal tressure (a double frame), adorned with fleur-de-lis.”

The Red Dragon of Wales

“The red dragon was used as his badge by Owen Tudor. His grandson, Henry VII, took it as a token of his supposed descent from Cadwalader, the last of the line of Maelgwn, King of Wales. The beast holds a shield bearing a leopard in each quarter; this was the coat of arms of Llewelyn ap Griffith, the last native Prince of Wales.”

The White Lion of Mortimer

“The White Lion of Mortimer descends to the Queen through Edward IV. 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 when Duke of York. Unlike the Lion of England, this beast is uncrowned.”

The White Greyhound of Richmond

“This beast was a badge of John of Gaunt, Earl of Richmond, son of Edward III, but was also used by 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, symbolising the union of the Houses of York and Lancaster.”

The White Horse of Hanover

“The White Horse of Hanover” was introduced into the Royal Arms in 1714 when the crown of Great Britain passed to the Elector George of Hanover. This grandson of Elizabeth, sister of Charles I, became George I, King of Britain, France 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 and the Irish harp in the third quarter; the fourth quarter shows the arms of Hanover.”

The Black Bull of Clarence

“This beast descended to the Queen through Edward IV. The shield shows the Royal Arms as they were borne not only by Edward IV and his brother Richard III, but by all the Sovereigns of the Houses of Lancaster and Tudor.”

The Yale of Beaufort

“The Yale was a mythical beast, said to be white in colour and covered with gold spots. Its peculiar characteristic was that it could swivel each of its horns independently. It descends to the Queen through Henry VII, who inherited it from his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. The shield shows a portcullis surmounted by the arched royal crown. The portcullis (uncrowned) was a Beaufort badge, but was used both crowned and uncrowned by Henry VII.”

The Griffin of Edward III

“The griffin 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 with the Royal Standard flying from the turret (the badge of the present House of Windsor), enclosed by two branches of oak surmounted by the royal crown.”

The Falcon of the Plantagenets

“The falcon was first used by Edward III as his badge. It descended to Edward IV, who took it as his personal badge, the falcon being seated within an open fetterlock or padlock. The slightly open fetterlock (which can be seen on the shield) is supposed to refer to the struggle Edward IV had to ascend the throne - he forced the lock and won the throne.”