1 oz Gold coin Queens Beasts 2020 White Lion of Mortimer

Unique in its history and importance, the White Lion of Mortimer adopts a very different pose to that of the Lion of England, which was the first launch of the collection. The White Lion came to the Queen through Edward IV, who inherited the creature from his grandmother, heiress of the Mortimers. Although Edward sometimes used the White Lion as a supporter of his Royal Arms, unlike the Lion of England, Mortimer's White Lion does not have a crown and the claws are blue rather than red and retracted. In heraldry, lions are often ``rampant'', standing with their front legs raised, but Mortimer's Lion is often shown sitting like a domesticated dog with its tail between its legs. The white lion of the queen's beasts has a blue Yorkshire shield and 'murrey' or mulberry with a white rose on a white background, a white rose on a golden sun, the 'white rose in soleil'. It was a badge worn by George VI, the queen's father, when he was Duke of York.