Henry VIII's Armour of c. 1540 | Secrets of the Greenwich Armour Workshops

Henry VIII's armour is one of the highlights of the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. Join The Queen's Armourer, Simon Metcalf, as he examines this extraordinary piece of history. This film explores the extraordinary armour of Henry VIII, offering a rare three‑dimensional insight into one of England’s most famous kings. Far more revealing than any painted portrait, the armour provides tangible evidence of Henry’s physique, his athletic early life, and the evolution of his power and status. As a young man over six feet tall and a skilled sportsman, Henry cut an imposing figure. Tournaments—once training for war but by the sixteenth century powerful arenas of diplomacy and political display—were stages on which Henry was determined to shine. After a serious jousting accident in 1536 ended much of his sporting activity, he nonetheless experienced a renewed burst of energy in his fifties, returning to riding and physical activity with enthusiasm. The film examines the magnificent Greenwich armour, made around 1540 in the royal workshops, possibly for Henry’s marriage to Anne of Cleves. Under the master armourer Erasmus Kyrkenar, foreign craftsmen were brought to England to form the celebrated Greenwich school, now considered the foundation of the English school of armour. This particular example is a garniture: a field armour designed for battle or mounted combat, with additional interchangeable pieces for tournament use. We look closely at the extra components, including the grandguard, pasguard and manifer—its name derived from the medieval French for “hand of iron”—all designed to protect Henry during the tilt. The construction reveals the tactical thinking behind armour design: the left side is heavily reinforced to withstand the lance’s impact, while the right allows greater visibility and ventilation. Innovative features include a unique extension plate to prevent over-flexing on impact, removable haute‑pieces to stop sword cuts from travelling towards the head, and sabatons shaped in the fashionable “bear paw” style of the period. Henry’s substantial waistline—approximately 138 centimetres—is evident in the multiple adjustment settings and added plates built into the breast and back. Despite weighing 39.1 kilograms without tournament pieces, the armour would have been manageable for someone trained from childhood to wear such equipment, especially with tailored padded garments to distribute the load and the advantage of fighting on horseback. The film also explores the metallurgical sophistication of the Greenwich workshops. Minute samples taken from seven areas of the armour reveal variations in crystal structure, showing that it was heat-treated in different ways to improve strength. These experiments allowed armourers to make the steel significantly harder, demonstrating their drive to innovate both the form and materials of Henry’s equipment. As part of a major conservation project, the armour has been studied, conserved and re-mounted in a pose inspired by the famous Holbein portrait, replacing the earlier 1914 mount. A cast of Henry’s carved wooden head from the Tower of London completes the imposing reconstruction. By removing the visor during filming, we offer a vivid impression of how Henry VIII himself would have appeared in full armour—an unforgettable vision of power, craftsmanship and historical presence.