Queen Elizabeths Pocket Pistol

Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol is a large cannon built in 1544 by Jan Tolhuys in Utrecht. It was originally given to Henry VIII by Maximiliaan van Egmond as a gift for his daughter, future Queen Elizabeth I. The gun measures 24 feet (7.32 meters) long and fires 4.75-inch (121 mm) cannonballs. Its design includes engravings of fruit, flowers, grotesques, and figures symbolizing Liberty, Victory, and Fame, along with a Tudor coat of arms bearing a Dutch verse that translates to: "Break, tear every wall and rampart, Am I called, Across mountain and valley, pierces my ball, By me stricken."

Between 1613 and 1622, the cannon was tested and found capable of firing a 10-pound (4.5 kg) ball over 2000 yards (1.8 km). Historical propaganda claimed it could fire a 12-pound (5.44 kg) ball seven miles, though modern tests suggest a more realistic range of 1200 yards with a 10-pound ball. During the English Civil War, the cannon was captured by King Charles I's forces in Cornwall and later recaptured by the Roundheads before being used in sieges.

The gun is now displayed at Dover Castle on an 18th-century carriage made from captured French guns. A replica of the cannon is also exhibited in Buren, Netherlands, near the Dutch royal family museum.