1 oz, UK, 2021, Silver, White Greyhound of Richmond

The Royal Mint says about the series:   "The Queen’s Beasts Collection nears its conclusion with the penultimate release in this ten-coin series. Chosen as one of the ten ancestral beasts that lined the entrance to Westminster Abbey at Her Majesty The Queen’s coronation, the White Greyhound of Richmond has been reimagined for modern times by acclaimed designer Jody Clark. His mix of dynamic realism and heraldic symbolism is a signature of this series. The coin is available in a range of precious metal Proof editions, as well as a Brilliant Uncirculated edition.  

A symbol associated with qualities such as fitness and skill, as well as faithfulness and loyalty, the greyhound was first used as a royal beast by Edward III. Closely associated with the House of Lancaster, it later became a symbol of the Tudor family when it was bestowed on Edmund Tudor by his half-brother Henry VI. After slaying Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Edmund’s son was crowned Henry VII. He used the white greyhound to display his Tudor and Lancastrian ancestry, denoting his right to rule."

The Queen's Beasts heraldic statues representing the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II 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 by sculptor James Woodford. The statues were uncoloured except for their shields at the coronation. They are now on display in the Canadian Museum of History. There are other statues of the Queen's Beasts, sometimes referred to as the King's Beasts, at Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens in London, and on the roof of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The White Greyhound of Richmond was a badge of John of Gaunt, the 1st Duke of Lancaster, the Earl of Richmond, and the 3rd son of King Edward III. It was also used by his son King Henry IV and especially by King Henry VII. The Tudor double rose can be seen on the shield, one rose within another surmounted by a crown. It symbolizes the union of the two cadet houses of Plantagenet - the House of York and the House of Lancaster.

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