The Murder of Thomas Becket

and how Henry VIII tried to erase his memory

6 hours ago this started out as a social media post but then I decided that this story, plus some incredible images of artefacts which I have in my possession, deserved an article.

The story of Henry II's 'troublesome priest" is famous but a few interesting facts are often overlooked, I cover them in this brief article.

On the 29th December 1170 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket was murdered within his own Cathedral by four knights loyal to King Henry II.

Thomas Becket had been a close friend of King Henry II but their friendship had soured after Thomas became Archbishop of Canterbury and it became clear that they did not have the same view on how the monarchy and the church should work together and, more to the point, who should dictate to who.

You can see a video I shot live from Canterbury a few years ago on Youtube.

Since 1163 Becket had been in exile in France. During this time Henry II had his eldest son, Henry the Young King, crowned. The Archbishop of York conducted the coronation, a clear snub as it was traditionally the role of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

(This article is also available in my Patreon - click here if you’d prefer to read it there)