Some of the hair of King Edward IV

Yesterday I wa writing about an attempt to reconstruct the voice of King Richard III and today it is the turn of his eldest brother King Edward IV and locks of his hair.

The BBC News website reported the sale of a lock of the King’a hair which had been removed when his grave at St George’s Chapel Windsor was opened in 1789. The skeleton was that of a man who was six feet three and a half inches tall, and some of whose hair survived. The original report about the royal remains submitted to the Society of Antiquaries can be read at Vetusta Monumenta: Plates 3.7-3.9: Vault and Body of Edward IV in St. George’s Chapel

The hair given to the Society can be seen online at Lock of hair of Edward IV - Society of Antiquaries of London

There is a summary of the elaborate funeral ceremonies in April 1483 at Death of King Edward IV

Coincidentally another mourning item from 1789 and also containing a lock of King Edward’s hair is shown by a jewellery retailer on their website at Mourning Brooch Fashioned from the Hair of King Edward IV

In all three examples the hair appears reddish-brown, which would definitely tie in with surviving examples from his grandson King Henry VIII and his great granddaughter Queen Elizabeth I. 

I have copied the BBC News article as follows:

Royal hair-loom

An unusual piece of royal history, in the form of a medieval monarch’s lock of hair inside a piece of jewellery, has been sold in Newbury, Berkshire, by auctioneers Dreweatts for £9,450.

The brooch, made circa 1789, features King Edward IV’s hair fashioned into a bow. Credit: Dreweatts

The strands of hair are from Edward IV (1442-1483), who was buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. His tomb was accidentally disturbed in the 18th Century and some of his hair found inside was put into commemorative mourning jewellery - the fashion at the time. It was a ring with diamonds that was later turned into a brooch. ‌ Edward IV was a central figure in the medieval power struggles between the Houses of York and Lancaster. The jewellery was made in March 1789, a few months before the French Revolution.