Parade or "Court" Armor

In the Middle Ages, a king was required to be many things:  statesman, judge, arbitrator, soldier.  He was usually surrounded by other kings who were not averse to expanding their territories by annexing that of weaker rulers, so kings often used displays of wealth and power to help foster the image of being too formidable to safely attack, or perhaps of being more valuable as an ally.

Many kings were required to be true soldiers and spent much of their reigns on the battlefield.  For state occasions, however, where the need to appear as the commander of his army or to project his image as a capable warrior arose away from the battlefield, kings had armor which wasn't designed for protection, but which reflected their wealth, status, and affiliations.

Below are detail pictures of the parade armor for Emperor Ferdinand I, who succeeded his brother, Charles V, as Holy Roman Emperor in 1558.

Breastplate showing engraved image of the Virgin Mother and Child, a motif common to the armor of
Ferdinand's brother, Emperor Charles V, who Ferdinand succeeded.  The armor was made by Kunst Lochner,
one of the premier armor smiths of the era in Nuremburg.

The backplate here is engraved with the crossed staves and fire steels of the Order of the Golden Fleece, of which
Ferdinand was a member.  The toe caps of the boots, which are not pictured, have the imperial double-eagle surmounted
by a royal crown to signify his status as king of the Romans and successor to his brother, Charles V.

Source:  http://thewickedknight.tumblr.com/post/75993459636/armor-of-emperor-ferdinand-i-germany-1549-made-by