A dazzling, extravagantly decorated 16th-century English prayer book, which some experts believe may have belonged to the young Henry VIII, is to be auctioned at Sotheby’s with a £2.5m estimate – 156 years after the same auction house sold it for £84. The experts believe another image of Becket was removed from the book, but the censors missed this one. He was never formally canonised, but was venerated by both Henry VII and his great nephew Henry VIII. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The book contains an image of Thomas Becket, which survived the widespread destruction of his image after Henry VIII outlawed the cult of the saint and martyr. Some experts have suggested it was made for the young prince Henry, who would become Henry VIII.

Source: The Guardian November 29, 2016 12:45 UTC