Armour of Henry, future Prince of Wales for the field, tourney, tilt and barriers consisting of a close helmet with reinforces for the upper and lower bevors, a gorget, a cuirass and tassets, a pair of slightly asymmetrical pauldrons, a pair of vambraces and a pair of complete legharness, all for the field; a right half-mitten gauntlet and tasset-extensions, probably for the tourney course; and a second close helmet, a grandguard, a pasguard, a manifer and three vamplates, all for the tilt, together with a half-shaffron for all mounted roles.

The decoration of all elements includes broad recessed bands, etched in relief with blued strapwork formed of two pairs of narrow straps interlaced to form a series of cartouches of various complex shapes amid arabesques involving stylised flower-heads, all on a fire-gilt ground. The topmost cartouche in the principal bands frames the monogram ‘HP’ under the coronet of the Prince of Wales. On each face of the comb of the field helmet the monogram consists of the letters ‘HFP’. The blued surfaces between the bands are formed with recessed fleurs-de-lis, Tudor roses and thistles slipped, all etched: the thistle-heads in a realistic manner and the remainder with arabesques, all on a fire-gilt ground. The inner petals of the roses are blued. Each of the flowers is linked to the next by two narrow ribbons which part to frame a diamond-shaped compartment with a loop projecting from each of the lateral corners.

The turned edges, which have long roping, are mostly followed by narrow recessed borders etched with a series of circles of flat strapwork, each framing a quatrefoil and linked to the next by a short longitudinal bar separating two small opening buds (culots). The edges without turns, for instance those of the tilt reinforces, are followed by a border of moderate width etched like the main bands but with a single wavy line of strapwork; each wave linked to the next by a short straight bar parallel to the edge of the band (jonces coudés). All the original iron fittings of the armour, such as its hinges and swivel-hooks, have been fire-gilt. The hasps, shoulder-straps and tasset-links are all etched with stylised foliage and fire-gilt all over.

Prince Henry is depicted wearing this armour, without its greaves and sabatons, in a posthumous full-length portrait by van Dyck, painted about 1633 (RCIN 404320). The portrait shows that the armour did not have piccadills, that its lining was of a crimson colour and that its straps were covered with purple velvet edged with gold thread. The painting also confirms that all the petals of the roses were originally blued. By 1835 the blueing had been removed, but in 1902 the surfaces were re-blued and later layers of regilding removed. The rivets and articulating-leathers have also been renewed.

Tests undertaken on the skull of the field helmet, the breastplate, the rear plate of the left greave and the pasguard of the armour show them to have microhardnesses in the ranges 289–325 VPH (average 302 VPH), 228–269 VPH (average 252 VPH), 234–325 VPH (average 311 VPH), and 212–236 VPH (average 224 VPH) respectively. The skull and left greave are in each case formed of quenched and tempered steels with very few slag-inclusions. The treatment of both pieces is typical of that found in Greenwich products of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The breastplate and pasguard, on the other hand, are formed of medium carbon steels with a few irregular slag-inclusions that have not been quenched and tempered – at least not succesfully. The carbon content of the breastplate is about 0.3–0.4% overall but rises to as much as about 0.8% at some points. It should be noted that re-blueing of this armour in 1902 makes its previous thermal history difficult to deduce unambiguously.

Text adapted from Norman, A.V.B, & Eaves, I. 2016. Arms and Armour in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: European Armour, London.

Metallurgy by Williams, A, & Metcalf, S. 2016. Summary of the metallurgy of European Armour in the Royal Collection. London. Appendix II of Norman & Eaves

Measurements: Field Helmet: height 24.5 cm, width 20.7 cm, depth 33.0 cm; Upper Reinforcing Bevor: height 14.0 cm, depth 20.0 cm; Lower Reinforcing Bevor: height 15.9 cm, depth excluding the hasps 12.7 cm; Tilt Helmet: height 24.8 cm, width 20.3 cm, depth 32.4 cm; Gorget: height 21.3 cm, internal diameter of neck-opening 14.8 cm; Breastplate: fauld and tassets, height from shoulders to centre of waist 45.6 cm, height from centre of neck to lower edge of breastplate 37.5 cm, height from centre of neck to lower edge of skirt 40.4 cm, height from shoulders to lower edge of tassets 55.3 cm, width beneath arm-openings 31.9 cm, width at waist 24.9 cm, width at lower end of tassets 48.8 cm, height of each tasset 17.8 cm; width of each tasset 24.2 cm, height of each tasset-extension: height 15.9 cm, width of each tasset-extension 22.9 cm; Lance-Rest: height of base plate 0.5 cm, width of base plate 5.1 cm; backplate: height 35.6 cm; Right Pauldron: height 23.5 cm, width 19.7 cm; Left Pauldron: height 23.5 cm, width 19.7 cm; Right Vambrace: length 45.1 cm; Left Vambrace: length 45.1 cm; Tourney Gauntlet: length 30.5 cm; Right Legharness: height of cuisse and poleyn 33.3 cm, height from top of cuisse to centre of knee 27.9 cm, height from centre of knee to ground 42.6 cm, height of greave and sabaton 39.4 cm, length of foot 25.1 cm; Left Legharness: height of cuisse and poleyn 33.7 cm, height from top of cuisse to centre of knee 27.9 cm, height from centre of knee to ground 42.6 cm, height of greave and sabaton 39.4 cm, length of foot: 25.1 cm; Grandguard: height 54.6 cm, width 47.7 cm; Pasguard: height 39.1 cm, width 30.5 cm; Manifer: length 38.8 cm, width 19.1 cm; First Vamplate: external diameter 25.4 cm, depth 11.5 cm, diameter of aperture 5.7 cm; Second Vamplate: external diameter 25.4 cm, depth 11.8 cm, diameter of aperture 5.7 cm; Third Vamplate: external diameter 28.1 cm, depth 11.8 cm, diameter of central aperture 5.7 cm; Shaffron: height 36.2 cm, width 19.7 cm.

Weight: Field Helmet: 2.41 kg; Upper Reinforcing Bevor: 0.184 kg; Lower Reinforcing Bevor: 0.347 kg; Tilt Helmet: 2.665 kg; Gorget: 1.049 kg; Breastplate and Tassets without Lance-Rest and Retaining-Pin: 4.111 kg; Lance-Rest and Retaining-Pin: 0.170 kg; Right Tasset-Extension: 0.442 kg; Left Tasset-Extension: 0.428 kg; Lance-Rest: 0.142 kg; Retaining-Pin of Lance-Rest: 0.028kg; Backplate: 1.304 kg; Right Pauldron: 0.99 kg; Left Pauldron: 0.998 kg; Right Vambrace: 1.304 kg; Left Vambrace: 1.304 kg; Tourney Gauntlet: 0.595 kg; Right Legharness: 2.1 kg; Left Legharness: 2.25 kg; Grandguard: 2.778 kg; Pasguard: 1.474 kg; Manifer: 0.936 kg; First Vamplate: 0.708 kg; Second Vamplate: 0.634 kg; Third Vamplate: 0.646 kg; Shaffron: 1.871 kg.