Royal family: New Henry VIII coins to celebrate royal beasts

The Royal Mint has worked with the Royal Palaces to design some special coins that tell us more about King Henry VIII. The collectable coins have been inspired by the beasts that feature on the famous Tudor king’s crests. coin – was launched at the monarch’s former palace, Hampton Court, where carvings of the beasts are still on display for visitors.

The £5 coin features an image of the Queen on one side and the animal on the reverse.

The collection has been designed by artist David Lawrence, who described the commission as an “honour” and a “huge challenge”.

He added: “Each royal beast comes down to us with centuries of heritage and meaning attached to them, vision that is still true to the past.”

The collection will also feature lions, bull, greyhounds and a unicorn – chosen by Henry VIII to line the moat bridge of Hampton Court Palace in south-west London.

What are heraldic beasts?

Heraldic means relating to coats of arms – which could

be special shields or shield-shaped patterns that are the sign of a family or city and represent the history of those that they belong to.

The beast are the animals you see

They aren’t just ancient symbols either – you’ll have seen one every time that England play football – the Three Lions on a badge.