Edward the Confessor or Henry VI?

Pilgrim badge, possibly from the shrine of St Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey or of Henry VI at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. This rather damaged badge is in the form of a king on horseback. Much of his hair, crown and arms are missing. He wears a knee-length pleated robe.

Edward the Confessor, king of England, died in January 1066. He was buried at Westminster in the church of the abbey he had re-founded. He already had a reputation for piety, chastity, generosity to the poor and for his miraculous ability to cure the sick. In 1161 Edward was canonised. There are very few confirmed Edward pilgrim souvenirs found in London, though the shrine keepers’ receipts at Westminster Abbey show that pilgrims’ offerings peaked in the 14th century.

King Henry VI was a very pious man but an unsuccessful king. In 1471 he was put to death while imprisoned in the Tower of London and buried at Chertsey Abbey. A spontaneous pilgrimage sprang up from people who remembered his pious nature and saw his death as a martyrdom. In 1485 Henry’s remains were moved to the Chapel of St George, Windsor. His cult flourished, encouraged by the Tudor kings, and pilgrims travelled to the shrine at Windsor until it was dismantled in 1543 due to the Reformation.