The unicorn lies in a sorry state in the grounds of Buckingham Palace (Picture: Twitter)

A unicorn that has watched over the Royal Family for over a century has been severely damaged.

There is currently a hole where the bronze figure should be after it was knocked off by an incoming lorry.

A passer-by who noticed the sorry situation tweeted: ‘Alas poor unicorn, knocked off from its perch on the gates of Buckingham Palace.

‘Shattered dreams…. who said unicorns weren’t real?’


The lion is now missing his friend (Picture: Twitter)

The unicorn has been there longer than the Queen (Picture: Getty)

The unicorn makes up part of the Royal Coat of Arms at the entrance to the Palace.

However, it is understood that it was knocked by a contractor as they drove through the North Centre Gate yesterday morning.



Pictures show the unicorn in pieces on the floor while the lion is now alone on the crest.

The gate bearing the Royal Coat of Arms is considered to be the main entrance to the Queen’s London residence.

The lion on the crest represents England while the unicorn symbolises Scotland.

It was designed by Walter Gilbert and Louis Weingarten of the Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts, the gates and railings of the Palace were installed in 1911.

The unicorn has been on the gates of Buckingham Palace for over 100 years (Picture: Getty)

The unicorn is set to be restored as soon as possible (Picture: Twitter)

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm an incident took place yesterday morning where a lorry damaged the North Centre Gate at Buckingham Palace.

‘The matter is currently being investigated.’

The Palace added that they intend to fix the crest as quickly as possible.

Nobody was injured during the incident and the Met Police said there was no criminal investigation.

As Scotland politicians threaten to call another independence referendum in the wake of disagreements over Brexit, let’s hope this shattered crest is not an ominous sign.