ENGLAND TRIP: Day 9: Part 2: Henry VIII's Burial Place

The last full day of our trip in England was in Windsor. Windsor Castle is the main attraction there, and we were surprised to find out that a church on the grounds was the final resting place of Henry VIII.

WHAT IS WINDSOR CASTLE?

Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and for its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it has been used by a succession of monarchs and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe.

ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR CASTLE -  St George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter.

SO WHAT HAPPENED WHEN HENRY VIII DIED?  - Tom is an amateur historian on the Tudor reign of England and did some research for the blog. What he learned about Henry VIII's death is kind of gross. Judge for yourself:

Inside the Chapel- the rectangle is Henry VIII's burial place

"When Henry VIII died, he was a mass of rotten flesh. He died at Whitehall and his huge carcass was put into a lead coffin and taken on procession through the streets of London to Syon House at twilight." It was put down in Syon Chapel and there a horrific event took place.  According to a contemporary account:

"...the leaden coffin being cleft by the shaking of the carriage, the pavement of the church was wetted with Henry's blood. In the morning came plumbers to solder the coffin, under whose feet was seen a dog licking up the King's blood."

Henry VIII Burial Place

 The story gained wide circulation and people remembered Friar Peto's denunciation of the king from the pulpit of Greenwich Church four years previously, in which the bold friar compared Henry to Ahab (King of Israel, married to wicked Queen Jezebel, who was warned by a prophet that dogs would lick up their blood), and told him to his face 'that the dogs would, in like manner, lick his blood'.

HENRY VIII'S BURIAL PLACE: 

Henry was buried in St George's Chapel, Windsor, and had a large marble sarcophagus built over the burial spot. Today, however, Henry's burial place is marked only by a small memorial plaque on the floor. His marble sarcophagus was removed in the 18th century when George III ordered the burial vault, located below the floor of the chapel, to be enlarged to accommodate 48 coffins.

Henry VIII's sarcophagus was never replaced but rather was commandeered in the next century and is now the tomb of Viscount Nelson in St Paul's Cathedral, London."

Here is an etching of what the enlarged royal burial vault, below the floor of the choir, looks like:

WHO ELSE IS BURIED THERE? 

We learned that Jane Seymour, Charles I (who was beheaded) and one of Queen Anne's babies were also buried at St. George's Chapel.