I thought it would be fun to celebrate the ending of the Tudor’s in class to put together a post of the actually ‘endings’ of some of the Tudor’s themselves.

Like I mentioned in class on Tuesday, the case of Queen Elizabeth I’s tomb effigy is truly a curious one. As it turns out, in more ways than the one I brought up. This first picture is a shot of the marble tomb itself in Westminster Abbey (it doesn’t show the large columned canopy that covers it). As you can see, the effigy isn’t very flattering.

This next picture shows Elizabeth’s hands, which are not as dainty as they were depicted in the portraits we saw in class. Her fingers are still a little long, but not really when you consider the overall size of the effigy (it’s pretty big).

Here we can see her hands again, but also a really good shot of her face. The effort to keep Elizabeth looking youthful clearly didn’t carry over into death. Like in the later portraits, we see the lower neckline of Elizabeth’s dress. Also, the crown and scepter are modern recreations, the originals having been stolen sometime in the late-seventeenth or early eighteenth century.

This last picture is of the entire structure of Elizabeth’s tomb, a rather impressive and imposing one. While there seemed to be no love lost between Elizabeth and her sister Queen Mary, the two are buried together, though there is no representation of Mary beyond a plaque at the base of the structure.

While I postulated that perhaps James I didn’t care much for his mother considering that he was abandoned by her at a young age, the tomb that he built for her in Westminster Abbey suggests that there may have been some affection after all.

Did I mention that it is across the aisle from Elizabeth’s tomb? And that her tomb is nearly as elaborate as Elizabeth’s?

All of these tombs are located in the Henry VII Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey. Here is a picture of the tomb of the original Tudor and his queen, Elizabeth of York. Also buried near Henry’s tomb is Edward VI, son of Henry VIII. The actual location of his tomb wasn’t discovered until the nineteenth century. A plaque now marks the spot.

Here is an image of the foot of the sarcophagus, showing detailing of the English Coat of Arms. We also get a sense of the profound piety of the Henry and perhaps the divine sanctity he associated with his claim to the throne and his reign.

Lastly, we have the tomb of Henry VIII. You would think that Henry would have the grandest of all the tombs of the Tudors…

Henry had planned an elaborate tomb, one that may have reviled his father’s, though it was never constructed. Instead, he was buried in a vault beneath St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle with his third wife, Jane Seymour. The simple marker above was not placed until the reign of William IV, the predecessor of Queen Victoria. As you can see, the vault also houses the remains of the deposed, tried, and executed King Charles I.