The Queen's Beasts are ten heraldic statues depicting the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II. They were commissioned by the Ministry of Works from James Woodford RA, sculptor, to stand in front of the temporary annexe to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation in 1953. The Beasts are some six-foot (1.83 m) high and the sculptor was paid the sum of £2,750. They were cast in plaster and could not therefore be left in the open air. After the Coronation they were removed to the Great Hall in Hampton Court Palace; in 1957 they were relocated to St George's Hall at Windsor Castle. The Beasts were taken into storage in April 1958 whilst their future was considered. It was eventually decided to offer them to the Commonwealth Governments and Canada being the senior nation was offered them first. In June 1959 Canada accepted the Beasts and they were shipped there in July. Originally the only part of the statues to be coloured was their heraldic shields but for the celebrations of the Canadian federation in 1967 the Beasts were painted in their heraldic colours. They are now in the care of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa. In 1958 Sir Henry Ross, Chairman of the Distillers Company, Edinburgh paid for Portland stone replicas of these statues which are on display outside the Palm House at Kew Gardens.
The Beasts have been commemorated in the following forms: bone china figurines, cups and saucers, glass tray set, plaster models, porcelain candlesticks, British postage stamps issued in 1998, silver tea spoons, tea towel. The beasts have been made into topiary at Hall Place, Bexley. The Beasts are: