The Queen's Beasts are ten heraldic statues representing the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II, depicted as the Royal supporters of England. They stood in front of the temporary western annexe to Westminster Abbey 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 in Gatineau, Quebec.
The original Queen's Beasts in the Canadian Museum of History.
Portland stone replicas of the Queen's Beasts in Kew Gardens, London
Lion of England
White Greyhound of Richmond
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 research. The museum is based in a 75,000-square-metre-building (810,000 sq ft) designed by Douglas Cardinal.
The museum from across the Ottawa River
Vitrines filled with items for a temporary exhibition at the National Museum of Canada in 1912
A plaque inside the museum commemorating the opening of the new building by the governor general of Canada in June 1989
Signage outside the museum bearing its new name in 2016.