Henry III of England, Great Seal – 1219–1259 – Historical Wax Seal Stamp

Wax seal stamp based on the First Great Seal of Henry III of England, in use from 1219 to 1259. It was the principal seal of the Crown for the first forty years of his reign and was attached to royal charters and writs of the period.

Henry III succeeded his father, King John, in 1216 at the age of nine and reigned for fifty-six years, until 1272. His reign took in the reissues of Magna Carta in 1216, 1217 and 1225, the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey in the Gothic style, and the baronial wars led by Simon de Montfort.

Like other medieval Great Seals, it has two faces: the king enthroned in majesty, and the king mounted and armed. The equestrian face shows him carrying a shield with the three lions passant guardant, the royal arms of England that remained at the heart of English heraldry for centuries. The legend reads + HENRICVS DVX NORMANNIE ET AQVITANIE COMES ANDEGAVIE, “Henry, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, Count of Anjou.”

“To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.” — Magna Carta, 1225

Each stamp is made of solid brass, supplied with a wooden handle and presented in a velvet pouch.

Design: First Great Seal of Henry III
Date of use: 1219–1259
Reign: 1216–1272
Period: 13th-century England
Stamp size: 50 mm
Material: Solid brass