Now I realise that Henry VIII is a divisive figure and that you’ll all have your opinions about his death so I’m not going to dwell on that aspect of his story. Instead let me introduce you to the left-field subject of his funeral hearses.
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It's a subject that caught my eye as I researched examples of temporary architecture for our Portable Palaces project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Of course these days we think of hearses as the black cars that transport the coffin to the funeral, but in 16th-century parlance the vehicle that Henry's body travelled in was called a chariot.
Henry’s chariot was a many-wheeled wagon covered with black velvet, hung with heraldic banners, and drawn by eight strong horses ridden by eight children. The lead used to encase Henry's embalmed corpse weighed more than half a ton alone, so the whole chariot and its royal cargo must have been enormously heavy.
The chariot carried his coffin, on top of which was his effigy – a model of the late King carved in wood and wax. The effigy was dressed in expensive robes and wore the Imperial Crown on its head. So valuable was it that when the cortège stopped overnight at Syon the effigy was placed under guard in the vestry.
Sadly Henry’s effigy hasn’t survived but there are some fabulous examples of royal funeral effigies on display in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Gallery at Westminster Abbey.