A gold pendant linked to Henry the Eighth has been found in a field in Warwickshire, England.
Yes, you're right. Via a metal detector. A 'Mr. Clarke' found it in December 2021.
'I had found a few coins before, nothing special,' the 35-year-old father of one told The Guardian. 'But I knew it was gold.
'When you see that colour then that is what you are there for as a metal detectorist.'
His 'once in 30 lifetimes' find caused him, he said, to shriek 'like a little schoolgirl'.
I would too, quite frankly. This is gorgeous.
The pendant has Henry's initials entwined with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. (Also called Katharine -- her first initial was 'K,' regardless.) This is the same wife who was first married to Henry's brother Arthur (who died of sickness), then married Henry in 1509. Although the marriage was 'happy' enough, Henry didn't limit himself to other female company. Eventually his eye was caught by Anne Boleyn. And Catharine couldn't seem to produce a male heir who lived more than a few months. (She did birth daughter Mary, though, who eventually became queen.)
By 1531, Catherine was gone. She had been banished elsewhere, and her rooms at court given to Anne, who had originally been part of her entourage. Her marriage wasn't officially annulled until 1533. By then, Henry and Anne had gone through two marriage ceremonies -- one secret, and one public.
Until her death in 1536, Catharine insisted that she was still married to Henry. Henry, who formed the Church of England to 'approve' his actions, because the Pope wouldn't do it... didn't care.
More on Henry's shenanigans here, in case you're interested. Catharine died Jan. 8 -- Henry's response was to dress in yellow, with a white feather in his cap. (Hardly in sorrow -- though some argued that yellow was the Spanish preferred color for mourning.) Anne went to the executioner's sword on the 19th of May that same year. (She also couldn't produce a male heir who stayed alive.) Anne's daughter Elizabeth eventually became queen, after Mary had a try at it first.
Catharine, looking pissed. No doubt unhappy because she lost a valuable necklace -- or dislocated her little finger. Or both.
Why did this lovely piece of jewelry end up in a field in Warwickshire? No one knows. No doubt it went through extensive testing, before museum professionals would agree that it was genuine. (One curator describes it as "blingy.") The pendant was attached to a little hand charm, and mounted on 75 links of golden chain.
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