Royal Armouries

Royal Armouries

Non-departmental public body overview
Formed	1983 (41 years ago)
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom
Headquarters	Leeds
Non-departmental public body executives	John Procter, Chair Nat Edwards, Master of the Armouries
Parent department	Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Website	royalarmouries.org

The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Once an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world.^[1][2] It is also one of the largest collections of arms and armour in the world, comprising the UK's National Collection of Arms and Armour, National Artillery Collection, and National Firearms Collection. Originally housed in the Tower of London from the 15th century, today the collection is split across three sites: the Tower, the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, and Fort Nelson near Portsmouth^[3]

From 2004 to 2015, a limited selection of items was also on display in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States, in cooperation with the Frazier History Museum.^[4]