“The figures on the headboard resemble early portraits of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York”
The V&A, London recently hosted a conference on King Henry VII’s marital bed. Jonathan Foyle (above), whose research helped confirm the bed’s royal heritage, tells the story of a remarkable piece of detective work
Why did the V&A stage a conference on Henry VII’s bed – and why now? The bed was discovered in 2010 and its significance has become much more apparent since. It’s a wonderful resource for understanding Henry’s relationship with his wife, Elizabeth; it’s the last of the medieval royal marriage beds, and the only one that survives. Investigations into the bed have been ongoing over the past nine years, and the conference gave analysts who’ve been studying it the opportunity to present their findings to press and public. How did you first hear about the bed? In 2012 I was contacted by antique bed specialist Ian Coulson who believed that a supposedly Victorian bed, bought at auction, was actually much older – a Tudor royal bed to be precise. I was sceptical, but on examining the bed in 2013, I saw the timbers to be cut and joined in an authentically medieval style. I was intrigued. What did scientific analysis reveal? DNA analysis, and dendrochronology (dating tree rings to the year they were formed), determined the wood to be oak from central Europe – this is known to have been imported by medieval kings, including Edward III, and definitely pre-Victorian.
Final confirmation of the bed’s medieval origins came from paint analysis. This went beneath the Victorian varnish to reveal the bed’s chronology of decorative finishes. The earliest sample matched that of 15th-century interiors, something impossible to fake. How do we know that Henry VII and Elizabeth of York slept in this bed on their wedding night? Much of the bed’s symbolism is specifically royal. There are profiles of two carved figures that resemble early portraits of Henry and Elizabeth – especially the king’s distinctive aquiline nose and thin lips. Seven carved stars also represent the seven gifts, or virtues, said to have been conferred to English kings by the Holy Ghost at the point of anointing. And the bed’s heraldry consists of single roses, which were devices used by both Henry and Elizabeth.
The bed’s shape also fits against the centre of the 13th-century mural in the Painted Chamber in Westminster Palace. This is where Henry and Elizabeth spent their wedding night (on 18 January 1486) and for which a “marriage bed” was prepared. What do the carvings on the bed’s headboard represent? They show salvation through the lens of a 15th-century royal marriage. The two figures on the headboard that resemble Henry and Elizabeth actually depict Adam and Eve holding the apple of temptation. These figures also represent Christ and the Virgin Mary, who transform the apple into a sign of redemption. The pair are trampling a lion and dragon, which represent evil.