2024 King Charles III Tudor Beasts 'Seymour Unicorn' 1oz 999.9 Gold Proof Coin - Box / COA

The Royal Tudor Beasts Collection

The Seymour Unicorn is the fifth coin in the Royal Tudor Beast series from the Royal Mint . Launched October 2021 the series when complete will depict all 10 Tudor Beasts of Henry VIII which stand on guard at the entrance to the famous Kings favourite Palace Hampton Court.

Before being chosen by Henry VIII to flank the Moat Bridge of Hampton Court Palace, the unicorn was rarely used as a royal heraldic beast. The Tudor monarch’s decision to include it may lie in its symbolism, as the unicorn represents purity and fertility, and the king desperately needed the ‘gods of fertility’ to bless his third wife with a son who could perpetuate the dynasty. The unicorn is a mythical creature that appears in the Bible and was recognised by the ancient Greeks. It has an interesting biological composition, possessing the body of a horse with more often than not the cloven hooves and beard of a goat, a lion’s tail, and a slender, spiral horn on its forehead.

The Seymour Unicorn is the first coin in the series to be dated 2024.