Page "Henry IV of England" Paragraph 27

Despite the example set by most of his recent predecessors, Henry and his second wife, Joan of Navarre, Queen of England, were buried not at Westminster Abbey but at Canterbury Cathedral, on the north side of Trinity Chapel and directly adjacent to the shrine of St Thomas Becket.

Becket's cult was then still thriving, as evidenced in the monastic accounts and in literary works such as Chaucer's ' Canterbury Tales ', and Henry seemed particularly devoted to it, or at least keen to be associated with it.

Reasons for his interment in Canterbury are debatable, but it is highly likely that Henry deliberately associated himself with the martyr saint for reasons of political expediency, namely, the legitimation of his dynasty after seizing the throne from Richard II.

Significantly, at his coronation, he was anointed with holy oil that had reportedly been given to Becket by the Virgin Mary shortly before his death in 1170 ; this oil was placed inside a distinct eagle-shaped container of gold.

According to one version of the tale, the oil had then passed to Henry's maternal grandfather, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster.

Proof of Henry's deliberate connexion to St Thomas lies partially in the structure of the tomb itself.

The wooden panel at the western end of his tomb bears a painting of the martyrdom of Becket, and the tester, or wooden canopy, above the tomb is painted with Henry's personal motto, ' Soverayne ', alternated by crowned golden eagles.

Likewise, the three large coats of arms that dominate the tester painting are surrounded by collars of SS, a golden eagle enclosed in each tiret.

The presence of such eagle motifs points directly to Henry's coronation oil and his ideological association with St Thomas.

Sometime after the King's death, an imposing tomb was built for him and his queen, most likely commissioned and paid for by Queen Joan herself.

Atop the tomb chest lie detailed alabaster effigies of the King and Queen, crowned and dressed in their ceremonial robes.

Henry's body was evidently well-embalmed, as an exhumation in 1832 established, allowing historians to state with reasonable certainty that the effigies do represent accurate portraiture.