Henry was born at Monmouth in 1387, eldest son of Henry IV and
Mary de Bohun, and succeeded his father in 1413. His life and
reign, especially his conquests in France, are matters of general
history. A Te Deum for the victory of Agincourt, fought on St
Crispin's Day (25 October) 1415 was sung before the shrine of St
Edward the Confessor in the Abbey and Henry contributed money
yearly towards the rebuilding of the nave. He married Catherine
de Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France. In August 1422 he
died at Vincennes and his body was embalmed and rested for a time
in Rouen Cathedral. He was returned to England and a great
procession accompanied the cortege from Dover to St Paul's
Cathedral in London. The coffin, on which lay his effigy, was
then brought to the Abbey on 7 November 1422 for burial. At his
magnificent funeral four horses drew the chariot into the Nave as
far as the choir screen. Henry had directed that a chantry chapel
should be raised over his body, at the eastern end of the
Confessor's chapel.
His tomb was completed in about 1431. The inscription
around the ledge of the tomb platform can be translated: "Henry
V, hammer of the Gauls, lies here. Henry was put in the urn 1422.
Virtue conquers all. The fair Catherine finally joined her
husband 1437. Flee idleness". The effigy head, sceptre and other
regalia were all of silver, with silver gilt plates covering the
figure of the king. However, all the silver was stolen in 1546
and the effigy was just a plain block of oak for many centuries.
In 1971 a new head, hands and a crown for the effigy were
modelled in polyester resin by Louisa Bolt, the features
following a contemporary description of the king and the earliest
portrait of him.
The tomb lies beneath the arch of the chantry, which is
carved with figures of kings and saints. Above him is the Altar
of the Annunciation, where prayers were said for the soul of the
king. On the bridges spanning the ambulatories are sculptures
depicting Henry at his coronation and riding into battle on his
horse. The saddle, helm and shield, which were part of his
funeral 'achievements', were for many centuries displayed on the
wooden beam above the chantry, but were restored and removed to
the Abbey Museum in 1972. This saddle is the earliest surviving
example of a new light-weight type, originally covered with blue
velvet. The limewood shield has only a small section of crimson
velvet remaining on the inner side. The domed helm, about sixteen
inches high, is a tilting helm so would not have been worn in
battle. A 15th century sword, found in the Abbey triforium in
1869, is thought to be part of this funeral armour.
Henry's widow Catherine de Valois (1401-1437) married
Owen Tudor, a Welsh squire, and one of her sons, Edmund, Earl of
Richmond was the father of the future Henry VII. She was buried
in the old Lady chapel and when Henry VII pulled this down to
build his new chapel he moved his grandmother's body and it was
placed above ground in an open coffin of loose boards near Henry
V, where it remained for nearly 200 years. Samuel Pepys, the
famous diarist, saw the mummified remains in 1669 and records how
he was allowed to kiss the queen! The body was eventually buried
in 1778 and a century later Dean Stanley removed her remains for
permanent burial under the altar in Henry V's chantry. Her
painted wooden funeral effigy is on display in the Abbey Museum,
but the effigy used at Henry's funeral has not survived.
Photographs of the chantry, armour and funeral effigy are
available from the Abbey Library.