It was finally left to King William IV, to mark the burial place in St. George's Chapel, of King Charles I. In 1837, a memorial stone of black marble, was laid in the floor of the choir, directly above the burial vault. The inscription reads...

IN A VAULT BENEATH THIS MARBLE SLAB ARE DEPOSITED THE REMAINS OF JANE SEYMOUR, QUEEN OF KING HENRY VIII, 1537, KING HENRY VIII, 1547, KING CHARLES 1, 1648, AND AN INFANT CHILD, OF QUEEN ANNE, THIS MEMORIAL WAS PLACED HERE BY COMMAND OF KING WILLIAM IV, 1837

After nearly two hundred years, Charles I at last lay in a marked grave. Exactly why William IV chose to have the site marked may never be known. It is interesting that the inscription was placed over the vault in the year or the three hundredth anniversary of the death of Jane Seymour, but this may be pure coincidence. It may well be that the Prince Regent, later George IV, intended to mark the spot, but in the event it was left to his brother.

Dutch engraving of the last days of Charles I.

St. George's Chapel was the scene of further building activity, when a passage was again constructed into the new Royal Vault and mausoleum being constructed. The new mausoleum was built at Frogmore, some distance from St. George's Chapel, but an entrance to the new vault was required in the floor of the choir. It is more than likely that there was a further disturbance of material in 1861, when the old vault was accidentally broken into.

Let us return briefly to Halford's account of the opening of the vault in 1813. It is clear from his account that some items were removed from the vault, following the examination. The pointed beard, and some hair from the back of Charles' head were taken, along with part of the neck vertebra and a tooth. Halford states that the hair "has since been cleaned and dried", which must have been well after the vault had been re-sealed, and there was no opportunity of returning the objects to the vault.

These relics were removed quite openly by Halford, and with the full consent of the Prince Regent, the Dean, and of the others present. The beard was wrapped up in a piece of Deanery writing paper, supplied by the Dean. Halford cleaned and dried the hair, and studied the other items before completing his account of the examination. The relics were eventually taken to Halford's home, Wistow Hall, some six miles from Leicester, where they remained.

In 1888 a minor public outcry arose, over the retention of these relics by Halford's family. During the seventy-five years while the relics were at Wistow, they were treated with all due reverence, and were occasionally shown privately to friends, without any suggestion of impropriety.

It is clear that some misunderstanding may well have arisen, among people to whom the true details of the opening of the vault in 1813, were imperfectly known. It was no doubt considered improper by some, that such relics should be allowed to be exhibited as mere curiosities, and the Royal family seem to have expressed opinions on the subject, although they were expressed in private.

At this time, Sir Henry St. John Halford, grandson of Sir Henry Halford, was himself concerned about the future of the relics. Partly because of the public interest, but mainly as he had no heirs, apart from his brother, who, like him had no children.

Sir Henry decided to present the relics to the Prince of Wales, but whether with the express intention of returning them to the vault is not known. The casket containing the relics was presented to the Prince of Wales at Marlborough House. Lord Cottesloe, in a memorandum about the relics, tells of a cool reception given to Sir Henry, by the Prince. The relics were presented in an ebony casket, measuring 4 3/4 inches by 3 3/4 inches, and 2 1/4 inches in depth.

On a silver plate inside the lid, was engraved the following inscription:

EN CAROLI Imi REGIS IPSISSIMUM OS CERVICIS FERRO EHEU INTERCISUM 1648 ET REGIAM INSUPER BARBAM

The piece of beard and the tooth, were carefully folded in a piece of writing paper, addressed "The Hon. and Most Reverend The Dean of Windsor", which shows plainly that Dean Legge had provided it for the purpose of wrapping up the relics for Halford to take away for further examination.

On December 11th 1888, the Prince of Wales informed the Dean of Windsor, Dean Davidson, that he had received the relics from Sir Henry St. John Halford, and that he wished to return them to the vault in which Charles I was buried. He had already obtained the consent of Queen Victoria. Two days later the Prince arrived at the Deanery, and handed to Dean Davidson the ebony casket, in which he had himself placed the following hand written note.

These relics of King Charles I are deposited by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, in the vault containing the coffin of the King, on December 13, 1888.'

During the intervening two days, the Dean had arranged for a leaden casket to be prepared. On the lid of this casket was engraved the following inscription:

'The relics enclosed in this case were taken from the coffin of King Charles I on April 1st, 1813, by Sir Henry Halford, Physician to King George III. They were by his grandson, Sir Henry St. John Halford, given to H.R.H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. On December 13th, 1888, they were replaced by H.RH. in this vault.'

A brief account of this event was written, and is preserved in the Library of the Dean and Canons at Windsor. It contains various measured drawings and a sketch of the vault in sepia, made at the time by Mr. A.Y. Nutt. This was the last occasion in which the vault was disturbed.

Bob Partridge has just written a more detailed account of the events surrounding the Execution of Charles I in his latest book published by Rubicon Press.

More Execution of Charles I

Introduction
Execution
Embalming
Cromwell
Charles I Coffin Opened (1813)
1813 to 1888
The Confession of Richard Brandon
Rainsborowe's Standard

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