King Henry VIII

Henry came to the English throne in 1509 at the age of 18. As a young man he excelled at tennis and wrestling and loved skill at arms, archery, jousting and foot combat.

The Royal Armouries collection contains many of Henry VIII’s original armours including those for jousting and foot combat. Henry employed the finest craftsmen in Europe at his armoury at Greenwich.

Notable objects located in this gallery


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Scary Horned Helmet

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Did you know?

First commerical steel melting

Benjamin Huntsman of Sheffield is widely credited with the first commercial melting of steel in around 1740, using his crucible process. However, the melting of steel had long been practiced in central Asia and India and was known as Damascus steel.

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