Standing Guard in Fine Silver - The Falcon of the Plantagenets 

Heraldic beasts were once flown on the banners of the battlefield to identify friend from foe. Centuries later they remain all around us, instantly recognisable symbols of royal authority. Inspired by the statues lining the entrance to Westminster Abbey on that June day in 1953 when a young woman arrived to be crowned queen, The Queen’s Beasts Collection from The Royal Mint celebrates this ancient art form; a series that continues with the Falcon of the Plantagenets. Plantagenet kings oversaw a period of transformation and turbulence in medieval history. Originally associated with Edward III, the falcon was passed to his great-great-grandson Edward IV, a key protagonist in the Wars of the Roses.