British Museum raises £3.5m to save pendant linked to Henry VIII’s marriage to Katherine of Aragon
The British Museum has raised £3.5 million to acquire a 24-carat gold necklace belonging to Henry VIII, following a campaign that attracted the support of tens of thousands of people.
The Tudor Heart Necklace, found by a metal detectorist in Warwickshire, is the only remaining piece of jewelery from the period linked to the former monarch’s 24-year marriage to his first wife, Katherine of Aragon.
The work features the Tudor rose and Katherine’s pomegranate symbol, and also includes a banner reading “tousiors”, the Old French word for “always”.
Director of the British Museum, Dr. Nicholas Cullinan said: “This beautiful survivor tells us a piece of British history that few of us know but can now all share. I look forward to telling you more soon about our plans to tour the UK in the future.”
The museum launched the campaign last October, hoping to raise funds by April to keep the work in its public collection.
The campaign was awarded £1.75 million by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and received donations of £360,000 from more than 45,000 people. He also received support from actor Damian Lewis.
“I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported our campaign and the National Heritage Commemoration Fund who so generously awarded £1.75 million,” Dr Cullinan said.
“The success of the campaign demonstrates the power of history to spark the imagination and why objects like the Tudor Heart should be in a museum.”
Henry VII’s marriage to Katherine was the longest of his six marriages. The museum said the necklace showed his devotion to Katherine and how their marriage shaped the early Tudor court.
Almost nothing survives from their marriage.
Research by the British Museum suggests that the necklace may have been made for a tournament held in 1518, symbolizing the engagement of their two-year-old daughter, Princess Mary, to the French heir. Henry frequently ordered jewelery from London jewelers for large celebrations and official events.
Curator of the British Museum, Dr. Rachel King said: “It has been a tremendous privilege to share the story of the Tudor Heart and its discovery with the world. I have been overwhelmed by the positive response to the museum’s campaign.”
“Thanks to the generous generosity of many people, people will have the opportunity to enjoy this object forever, and hopefully the mysteries of who wore it and why and how it was buried will be solved.”
