The Lion of England

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This majestic sculpture represents the Lion of England, one of the Queen's Beasts. The original Queen’s Beasts were a set of ten heraldic statues created by the Ministry of Works for the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 by renowned sculptor James Woodford. It was ultimately decided that they would be gifted to one of the Commonwealth governments and Canada was offered the Beasts, accepting the offer in 1959; now they stand proudly in the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec. In 1956, a replica set of Beasts were made in Portland stone once again by James Woodford and donated to Kew, where visitors to the gardens are greeted with these sculptures as they approach the main entrance of the Palm House. The Lion of England is the crowned golden lion of England, supporting the Royal Arms since the reign of Edward IV (1461–1483). It supports a shield showing the Arms of the United Kingdom as they have been since Queen Victoria's accession in 1837. In the first and last quarters of the shield are the lions of England, taken from the arms of Richard I "The Lionheart" (1157–1199). The lion and tressure of Scotland appear in the second quarter, while the harp of Ireland is displayed in the third.