White bear of Henry III

Although earlier monarchs had kept exotic animals at the Tower of London, it was Henry III (reigned 1216–1272) who established the Royal Menagerie on a permanent footing.

For a polar bear to have reached Norway, it would either have arrived on drifting ice or been procured by Haakon from Greenland, over whose Norse settlements he was exerting increasing control.

[4][6] The white bear was an important royal symbol in Norse history, similar in status to leopards and lions of the English crown, so the gift had great diplomatic value.

[9] He ordered that a muzzle and chain be made for the animal so it could be walked outside of the Tower's grounds, and that it be permitted to swim, bathe, and fish in the River Thames tethered by a long rope.

This individual is presumed to have been shipped from a place of the same name—perhaps Lyngen Fjord—and been caught in Svalbard; it was likely a replacement for Henry's original bear.

[11][12] The bear may also have inspired the symbol's use on token coins such as those issued by traders in Bride Lane (off Fleet Street) in the 17th century.