British Museum secures Henry VIII heart pendant

LONDON

The British Museum announced on Feb. 10 it had raised 3.5 million pounds ($4.8 million) to buy a gold heart pendant linked to Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, with a crowdfunding campaign making up more than 10 percent of the total.

The pendant known as the Tudor Heart is "the only piece of jewelry of its kind" from Henry VIII's 24-year-long marriage to Catherine of Aragon, the museum said.

The marriage ended acrimoniously in 1533 with Henry VIII annulling the union, eventually splitting from the Roman Catholic Church and going on to have five other ill-fated marriages.

The British Museum said it had secured funding "to acquire the Tudor Heart pendant for its permanent collection, ensuring it will be on public display for generations to come."

"This beautiful survivor tells us about a piece of English history few of us knew, but in which we can all now share," said British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan.

According to the institution, "almost no other objects survive that celebrate Henry and Katherine's relationship, most having been lost over time."

The 24-carat-gold pendant displays a white and red Tudor rose, a symbol of Henry's dynasty, entwined with a pomegranate, which was Catherine's personal emblem.

A banner below reads "tousiors," the old French word for "always," and the reverse of the pendant shows the letters "H" and "K" — thought to refer to the king and his first wife.

It was discovered by cafe owner from Birmingham who was using a metal detector at the site of a dried-up pond in Warwickshire, northwest of London, in 2019.