Pendant may show Henry VIII really had a heart of gold

EVIDENCE of a romantic gesture made by Henry VIII may have been unearthed by a detectorist.

A gold pendant found in a field in Warwickshire bears the initials and symbols of the Tudor king and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon.

It is fashioned in the shape of a heart and engraved with a pun on the French word “toujours” and “all yours”.

It is believed the 500-year-old piece of jewellery may have been commissioned to be given as a prize at one of the jousting tournaments staged by Henry VIII, which suggests it was a very public show of affection for his wife.

It is now on show at the British Museum in London as part of a collection of recently unearthed treasures by metal detectorists.

Curator Rachel King, said that while it remains a mystery who owned the “fashionable” piece of jewellery, it was undoubtedly made for “a member of the nobility or a high-ranking courtier”.

It was found in 2019 by Charlie Clarke, a Birmingham café owner, who took up metal detecting just six months prior to his “once in lifetime discovery”.