The White Greyhound of Richmond is one of the Queen's Beasts

Queen's Beasts

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 high...

, a greyhound

Greyhound

The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...

 featured prominently in Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

. According to the Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society

Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society

The Cambridge University Heraldic and Genealogical Society was formed as the result of the merger in 1957 of a previous Heraldic Society with the Cambridge University Society of Genealogists .-Foundation of the society:...

:

• "The White Greyhound of Richmond bears a shield of Tudor livery, white and green, with a Tudor Rose ensigned by a Royal Crown. Henry VII sometimes used greyhounds as supporters and on his standards. His father, Edmund Tudor, was created Earl of Richmond and the white greyhound was associated with the Honour of Richmond. The rose in the badge shows the association of the red and the white elements of Lancaster and York respectively, emphasising the union of the rival houses."http://www.societies.cam.ac.uk/cuhags/escutch/1997-98/ar_qb.htm

Originally a badge held by John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster

John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster , KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third surviving son of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...

 during his tenure as steward/earl of the Honour of Richmond

Honour of Richmond

The Honour of Richmond in north-west Yorkshire was granted to Count Alan Rufus by William the Conqueror in 1071AD. The honour, which was assessed for the service of 60 knights, was one of the most important fiefs in Norman England. - Territory :...

, it was the canine breed most favoured in Northern England

Northern England

Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered...

. This animal was further used for John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford

John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford

John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, KG , also known as John Plantagenet, was the third surviving son of King Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, and acted as Regent of France for his nephew, King Henry VI....

 and George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence

George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence

George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Warwick, KG was the third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the...

 and is supposed to stand for the honour, regardless of who has held or been in charge of it, although Peter II, Count of Savoy was not known to have any unique symbol to depict his stewardship of Richmond. Although they were legitimately entitled to the feudal estate, the badge was not used by any Duke of Brittany

Duke of Brittany

The Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...

, preferring to use their traditional ermine until Francis II, Duke of Brittany willed Richmond to Henry VII of England

Henry VII of England

Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....

--the chief representative of the House of Lancaster

House of Lancaster

The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...

, which simultaneously legitimised the title to the Tudor dynasty

Tudor dynasty

The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...

 and reversed the effect of the attainder made by Richard III of England

Richard III of England

Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...

 as chief representative of the House of York

House of York

The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...

 and swung the loyalty of Richmondshire

Richmondshire

Richmondshire is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. It covers a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with the prominent Scots' Dyke and Scotch Corner along the centre. Teesdale lies to the north...

 against the Ricardian regime, rolling back jure uxoris

Jure uxoris

Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....

 control through the marriages to Cecily Neville

Cecily Neville

Cecily Neville, Duchess of York was the wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and the mother of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III....

, Anne Neville

Anne Neville

Lady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...

 and Isabella Neville, as descendants of the Nevilles who held Middleham

Middleham

Middleham is a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale, in the Yorkshire Dales, on the north-facing side of the valley just above the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. There has been a settlement there since Roman...

. Henry VII subsequently replaced the English lion with the White Greyhound, in the coat of arms of England

Coat of arms of England

In heraldry, the Royal Arms of England is a coat of arms symbolising England and its monarchs. Its blazon is Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure, meaning three identical gold lions with blue tongues and claws, walking and facing the observer, arranged in a column...

, opposite the Y Ddraig Goch

Y Ddraig Goch

The Welsh Dragon appears on the national flag of Wales . The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolise Wales is from the Historia Brittonum, written around 820, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of King Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders...

 of Wales. Like the Red Dragon, the White Greyhound represents the ancient Brython

Brython

The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...

s, although more specifically of the Breton element

Breton people

The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...

 which had become resettled since the Harrying of the North

Harrying of the North

The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...

in 1071.