The First State Bed of Henry VII & Elizabeth of York

An investigation into the fascinating discovery of the marriage bed of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

We recently completed production on this long-form documentary, presented by historian, author and TV personality Dr Jonathan Foyle.

Acquired online by the current owner Ian Coulson in 2010, this finely carved but incomplete bed was believed to be Victorian, but upon delivery appeared much older, and with solely royal arms.

The film represents the culmination of many years of in-depth research where a team of experts, including Jonathan and Ian Coulson, have ascertained the object's story through a multi-disciplinary approach.

This combined a thorough physical inspection; forensic, biological and statistical sciences; art-historical analysis; tracing its provenance; and the remarkable chance discovery of further examples by the same fifteenth-century workshop. One of the scientific methods - dendrochronology - required an independent second opinion, both being checked by DNA identification of the timber. The weight of evidence demonstrates it to be an extremely important relic from Westminster Palace made in 1485 for a royal marriage uniting a couple cast as saviours of the nation in the wake of war.

It is surely the most significant surviving example of late medieval English royal furniture, its iconography transforming our understating of the Tudor monarchy at its outset. This film explains evidence about the bed to academics, historians and anyone with an interest in the Tudor period and English history.

Видео The First State Bed of Henry VII & Elizabeth of York канала inhousefilms