Line of Kings

Royal armour and surprising tales

The magnificent tournament armour of Henry VIII and the gilded armours of Charles I and James II take pride of place in the Line of Kings in the White Tower.

The fabulous silvered and engraved armour of Henry VIII was made for the young, slender King in c1510-15. This is the earliest of the six surviving armours of Henry VIII, made for him when he cut a fine figure on horseback!

The evolving displays also came to include other rare and superbly-crafted pieces made for noblemen as well as munition armour for ordinary soldiers. Other extraordinary curiosities like the armours of the 'Giant', the 'Dwarf' and the gift from the 'Great Mogul' were also placed on show.

Propaganda and pageantry

When you visit the Line of Kings, you're following in the footsteps of 350 years of visitors from all over the world.

The Board of Ordnance created the Line of Kings to promote the restored Stuart monarchy. This government department was mainly concerned with arming the nation’s military forces, but it also provided pageantry to promote kingship.

The Line of Kings was a propaganda statement: it featured 'good' kings like Edward III and Henry VIII but excluded 'bad' ones such as Edward II and Richard III - and queens were left out entirely.

When this new exhibition opened it was both historical and topical: some visitors would have remembered the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the restoration of Charles II in 1660. William III's 'Glorious Revolution' and the flight of James II in 1689 would also have been fresh in their minds.