French find the missing head of murdered King Henri

16/12/10 16:55 CET

world news

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A royal relic of a rare importance has been discovered in France – the missing head, no less, of one of the country’s most popular kings.

Presumed lost in the chaos of the French Revolution, King Henri IV’s embalmed head has been identified, exactly 400 years after his murder.

Scientists presented it along with their verification techniques in Paris, joined by a journalist who first traced the king’s head – to the home of a pensioner.

“When we realised we would not have DNA…an anthropologist did a facial composite from the scan of the head,” said the reporter, Stephane Gabet.

“He gave us a composite which was Henri IV’s double. At the same time, we confirmed there was a beauty spot at the same place as on Henri IV, with a scar to the lip in the same place, too. So from that day on, we knew we might have something.”

The king was killed by a Catholic fanatic in 1610, at the age of 57. His head was thought lost after revolutionaries desecrated royal graves at the Saint-Denis basilica near Paris in 1793. Now, however, Henri’s head will be relaid to rest there next year after a national funeral service.

More about: Archaeology, France

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