During the Tudor period heraldic motifs and mottoes were often incorporated into the interior and exterior decoration of a building. Craftsmen exploited the motifs for their intrinsic decorative qualities, though it was the information that they conveyed about the status and wealth of the owner that was most important. This panel would have originally formed part of a richly painted and gilded scheme of carved wall decoration.

The panel is one of a set of four which are said to have come from Windsor Castle. Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) encouraged the use of heraldry in the decoration of his residences, as well as in the dress of his subjects and servants. At Hampton Court Palace the principal decorative motifs were the coats of arms and badges of the King and Queen. Set in windows, moulded on ceilings, embroidered on hangings and upholstery and carved in stone above gate and doorways, they had to be changed each time Henry remarried.

During Henry VIII's reign legislation was passed relating to the use of armorial devices. To ensure that they used the correct forms, carvers and painters owned and consulted pattern books. Unfortunately, none of these books survives. However, there are surviving royal records of arms and heraldic beasts, for example, those by Sir Thomas Wriothesley (died 1534), Henry VIII's Garter King of Arms. These records would have been used to give advice to painters involved in the decoration of the royal palaces.