Identification of King Henry IV’s Head

Known as ‘the good king Henri’ or ‘the green gallant’, Henry IV was one of the most favourite French kings. After his assassination by a religious fanatic named Ravaillac in 1610, Henri IV was buried alongside France’s other kings in the Basilica of Saint Denis. Since the profanation of the graves by the Revolutionists in 1793, the head of his embalmed body disappeared and was conserved in successive private collections. In January 2010, the embalmed

head was rediscovered and a group of scientists led by Philippe Charlier, from the Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, attempted to confirm its identification using multiple scientific techniques. HORIBA Scientific was involved in this fascinating study for its expertise in spectroscopic techniques.

Micro X-Ray fluorescence analysis has particularly revealed the elemental composition of a small grey mineral substance present only on the face skin. The major elements found (silicon, aluminium, iron, titanium and potassium) constitute a typical composition for clay that confirms the realisation of a mould of the face at the end of the 18th century.

Moreover, analyses using a LabRAM ARAMIS Raman microscope help to identify the black substance present at the base of the royal neck as Ivory Black (a  variety of amorphous carbon). This charcoal, obtained by anaerobic calcinations of animal bones, is known (through sixteenth century medical journals) to have been used by the King’s surgeon to absorb decomposition fluids and putrefactive gas.

These results associated with the ones obtained by radiocarbon testing and embalming procedures knowledge provide valuable evidences that the embalmed head belongs effectively to Henry IV.