5 Pounds - Charles III Queen's Lion, Silver Proof

The Queen's Lion is one of the ten heraldic beasts reproduced at Hampton Court Palace in the 1530s on the orders of Henry VIII, each representing a dynastic claim or royal bloodline. The original stone beasts were replaced in wood, then again in recreations that still flank the bridge today. This issue continues a series the Royal Mint launched under Elizabeth II, which now carries across the reign change — unusual in that the same heraldic programme is being commemorated under two monarchs without interruption.