WHAT HAPPENED to Henry VIII’s body after his death? Did one of England’s most famous Kings explode in his coffin and did dogs lick up his blood, or is this one gruesome dead body story that’s more fiction than fact? Those are the questions I’m going to answer in today’s Tudor history documentary from History Calling.

In 1532 Henry was supposedly told by Friar William Peto that, much like the Biblical figure, King Achab, his blood would be licked up by dogs. Little could he know that this would be one Tudor prophecy that came true, for it’s one of the strange facts about Henry VIII that while his body was being transported to its final resting place in St George’s Chapel at Windsor, the coffin apparently began to leak during an overnight stay at Syon Abbey and onlookers reported that a stray canine, who was certainly not Henry’s best friend, was found lapping up the puddle. This story has then been embellished to say that Henry VIII exploded in his coffin, but how much truth is there in that part of the story? Did Henry VIII explode? This video will look at the sources which describe what happened at Syon, discuss what can happen to a dead body and share with you the grisly stories of some other deceased royals who had a less than dignified exit from the world, including the shocking story of what happened at William the Conqueror’s funeral and to Henry I’s body. It will also discuss what was found when Henry VIII’s body was exhumed. A leaking coffin may be one of the little known facts about Henry VIII, but as it turns out, what happened to this famous Tudor King was far from unique.

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TUDOR MONARCHS PLAYLIST
   • Tudor monarchs  

SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST    • Six wives of Henry VIII  

WHAT HAPPENED TO QUEEN ANNE’S CHILDREN?
   • WHAT HAPPENED TO QUEEN ANNE’S CHILDRE...  

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READ

Robert Hutchinson, Young Henry: The Rise of Henry VIII (W&N, 2012). https://amzn.to/3mu5liP (UK LINK) OR https://amzn.to/378VAjd (US LINK)
David Starkey, Henry: Virtuous Prince (Harper Press, 2008). https://amzn.to/39y2jVK (UK LINK) OR https://amzn.to/3BXE4wG (US LINK)
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) https://amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) https://amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
Hillary Mantel, Wolf Hall (Fourth Estate, 2010). https://amzn.to/3pvuzgT (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/3kq30Xr (US link)
Hillary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies (Fourth Estate, 2012). https://amzn.to/2ZsBhJM (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/3xQRkAW (US link)
Hillary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light (Fourth Estate, 2020). https://amzn.to/3jYRXlI (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/3kzLtMB (US link)
Suzannah Lipscomb, 1536: The Year That Changed Henry VIII (Lion Books, 2006) https://amzn.to/3yRhCmp (UK link) OR https://amzn.to/3wXWARP
THUMBNAIL: Snuffbox with portrait of Henry VIII and presentation inscription, Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain.

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