The Tudor Heart: Why This Love Token Is Actually About Power, Not Romance

The Tudor Heart

The British Museum has raised £3.5 million to save the Tudor Heart, a stunning 24-carat gold pendant found in a Warwickshire field in 2019. The media immediately called it a love token between Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon. The intertwined symbols are all there: the Tudor rose, the pomegranate, the initials H and K, and the inscription tousiors—always.

Romantic, right? Not quite.

The British Museum's own research suggests a different interpretation. This pendant was most likely made for a tournament in October 1518 celebrating the betrothal of their two-year-old daughter, Princess Mary, to the French Dauphin.

We cannot know for certain. The pendant carries no maker's mark, no dated inscription, no definitive provenance. But the timing, the symbols, and the historical context all point towards a political celebration rather than a private love token.

This was not romance. This was dynasty. This was ambition. And at the centre of it stood a little girl whose future would reshape England forever.

The Real Story Behind the Tudor Heart

In 1518, Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon had been married for nine years. Their son Henry had died at just 52 days old in 1511. Several miscarriages and stillbirths had followed. By 1518, only one child survived: Princess Mary, born in February 1516.

Mary was Henry's heir. She was also his bargaining chip on the European political stage.

The betrothal to the French Dauphin was a diplomatic triumph. England and France had been enemies for centuries, but this marriage would seal a new alliance. The October tournament celebrated the Treaty of London, which bound England and France together through the marriage of their royal children.

The Tudor Heart pendant likely commemorated this moment—though we cannot be certain. Henry and Katherine's symbols—the rose and pomegranate—were not just about marital affection. They represented the union of two dynasties and the political future embodied in their daughter.

Mary was two years old. She was already being used to secure her father's international ambitions.

Why the Romance Narrative Matters

The "love token" story is easier to sell. Henry and Katherine in their early years, still hopeful, still united, exchanging romantic gifts. It fits the narrative we expect from Tudor dramas and museum exhibitions.

But erasing Mary from this story does her a disservice.

Mary Tudor was not just the daughter of a famous king and his first wife. She was England's first crowned queen regnant. She ruled in her own right, not as a consort. She faced opposition, rebellion, and religious conflict. Her five-year reign laid the groundwork for Elizabeth I's later success by establishing that a woman could hold the English throne.

Yet she is often reduced to "Bloody Mary" in popular memory, or worse, forgotten entirely while her father's romantic entanglements dominate the historical narrative.

The Tournament, the Treaty, and the Little Princess

The October 1518 tournament was a lavish affair. Knights jousted wearing the colours of England and France. Pageantry celebrated the new alliance. And at the heart of it was the betrothal of Princess Mary, who would one day unite the two kingdoms through marriage.

Of course, it never happened. The political winds shifted. By 1521, England and France were enemies again. Mary's betrothal was annulled. She would later be betrothed to her cousin, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V—another alliance that ultimately collapsed.

Mary's childhood was a series of broken promises, political manoeuvring, and dynastic ambition. She was a pawn in her father's diplomatic games long before she became the inconvenient daughter he tried to bastardise.

The Tudor Heart pendant represents this reality. It was made to celebrate a political alliance secured through a child. The romance between Henry and Katherine was secondary to the dynasty they were building.

Queen Mary 1

What Happened to Mary

By the time Mary was seventeen, her father had annulled his marriage to her mother, declared her illegitimate, and married Anne Boleyn. Mary lost her title, her household, and her place in the succession. She was forced to serve her infant half-sister Elizabeth as a lady-in-waiting.

Katherine of Aragon died in 1536, isolated and unvisited. Mary remained in limbo, estranged from her father, stripped of her status, and uncertain of her future.

She would not be restored to the succession until 1544, when Henry's third Succession Act named her after her half-brother Edward and any children he might have. Even then, the legitimacy question lingered.

When Edward VI died in 1553, there was an attempt to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne instead of Mary. But Mary had popular support. She rode into London and claimed her crown. She became England's first queen regnant, ruling in her own name.

Her reign was controversial. She restored Catholicism, burned Protestant heretics, and married Philip II of Spain—decisions that damaged her reputation for centuries. But she also demonstrated that a woman could rule England, paving the way for her half-sister Elizabeth's long and celebrated reign.

Reclaiming the Narrative

The Tudor Heart pendant is a beautiful object. It deserves to be preserved. The £3.5 million raised to keep it in the UK is a testament to the enduring fascination with Tudor history.

But when we tell its story, we should be honest about what we know and what we do not.

We do not know definitively whether this pendant was a personal love token or a political commemoration. We do not know who commissioned it, who wore it, or how it ended up buried in a Warwickshire field. What we do know is that the symbols it carries—the Tudor rose, the pomegranate, the initials H and K—represented not just a marriage but a dynasty. And in 1518, that dynasty's future rested on a two-year-old girl whose betrothal was being celebrated with tournaments and treaties.

Whether the pendant marked that betrothal or simply expressed affection between Henry and Katherine, Mary Tudor was central to both narratives. She was the heir, the diplomatic asset, and ultimately the woman who would claim a throne that many believed she had no right to hold.

Mary Tudor matters. Her story matters. And learning to question the simplified narratives we are given—whether about jewellery, monarchs, or history itself—is a skill that extends far beyond the Tudor period.

Teaching Critical Thinking Through Tudor History

This is exactly the kind of historical thinking we explore on our Hidden Tudors Tours. When we walk past the sites where these events unfolded—where Mary was declared illegitimate, where Katherine of Aragon faced her trial, where tournaments celebrated dynastic ambitions—we ask participants to look beyond the romantic myths and examine what we actually know.

What evidence do we actually have? What can we prove and what are we inferring? Whose perspective is being centred? Who benefits from this version of the story? What has been left out? What claims are being made with certainty when the evidence is ambiguous?

These questions matter for students studying history, for families exploring London's heritage, and for anyone who wants to understand how narratives shape our understanding of the past.

The Tudor Heart pendant offers a perfect case study. The physical object exists. The symbols are documented. The historical context is known. But we do not know who commissioned it, when exactly it was made, or what specific occasion it marked. Yet the story told about it shifted immediately to romance rather than considering political contexts. Why? Because romance sells. Because we expect love tokens. Because a two-year-old girl's betrothal is less compelling than a king's passion for his wife.

But teaching young people to spot these narrative choices—to ask why one story is told instead of another—builds critical thinking skills that apply everywhere. From analysing news coverage to evaluating social media claims, the ability to question whose story is being told and why is fundamental.

Why Tudor Walks Matter

Our Hidden Tudors Tours bring this approach to the streets of London. We stand in the places where history happened and examine the evidence together. We look at buildings, read contemporary sources, and discuss what we know versus what we assume.

For school groups, this develops historical enquiry skills that support the curriculum whilst making learning tangible and memorable. For families, it offers a chance to explore London's past together whilst developing critical thinking about how history gets told. For anyone interested in the Tudors, it provides context and complexity that goes far beyond the simplified narratives of popular culture.

The Tudor period offers endless opportunities for this kind of enquiry. Why do we know so much about Henry VIII's wives but so little about the women who served them? What happened to the monks and nuns after the Dissolution of the Monasteries? How did ordinary Londoners experience the Reformation? What role did Black Tudors play in London's history?

These questions do not have simple answers. But asking them—and exploring the evidence together—is where real learning happens.

Book a Tudor Walk

If the story of the Tudor Heart pendant intrigues you, imagine exploring the actual locations where Tudor history unfolded. Our Hidden Tudors Tours run regularly in Westminster, the City of London, and Southwark, covering everything from royal palaces to the lives of ordinary Londoners, from Black Tudor history to the stories of Tudor women and queens.

The next time you hear a simplified historical narrative—whether about a pendant, a monarch, or any other aspect of the past—remember to ask: whose story is this? What evidence supports it? And who has been left out? That is the kind of thinking that changes how we see history.

Book a Hidden Tudors Tour:

• Schools and groups: contact@morecurricular.co.uk

• Families: www.hiddentudorstours.co.uk

More Curricular goes beyond traditional tutoring to develop the skills students need for lifelong success. Based in London, we combine essential skills training, critical thinking through heritage education, and professional development for teachers—creating a complete ecosystem of educational excellence for students, families, and schools across the capital.