EAST MOLESEY, SURREY

Coins featuring Henry VIII’s beasts unveiled at Hampton Court Palace

Henry VIII was, by all accounts, a rather beastly chap, so it was fitting that he chose 10 ancestral beasts to guard the moat bridge at Hampton Court Palace. Known collectively as the Royal Tudor Beasts, these heraldic animals have long been a favourite of visitors to the king’s former home – and now they are set to be commemorated on a series of official coins.

This new set is being produced by The Royal Mint, the original maker of coins in the UK. “Each royal beast comes down to us with centuries of heritage and meaning attached to them,” explains designer David Lawrence. The first coin to be unleashed is the Seymour Panther, so called because it was the heraldic symbol of the king’s third wife, Jane Seymour. The remaining designs will be issued across the next five years.