Description

When Her Majesty The Queen was crowned in 1953, the entrance to Westminster Abbey was guarded by ten fantastical creatures. The Queen’s Beasts were six-foot tall statues that symbolized the heritage and history Queen Elizabeth II inherited that day. These royal protectors have been brought to life in a collection named in their honor, which began in the year The Queen became the world’s longest reigning living monarch.

The yale is a mythical beast, described to be the size of a hippopotamus, with the tail of an elephant and jaws of a boar. It descends to The Queen through Henry VII, who inherited it from his mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort. Her position as a matriarch brought the yale prestige and a symbolic meaning. Today, the yale can be seen guarding prominent buildings of education such as Yale University, Christ’s College and St. John’s College in Cambridge.