Bringing the existence and significance of the lost riches of Henry VIII back to life, this book sheds new light on Henrician and Tudor court culture. Henry VIII amassed the most spectacular collection of gold and silver of any British monarch. Plate and jewels were hugely prominent in medieval and Renaissance courts and played an essential role in dynastic marriages and diplomacy as well as in cementing bonds between king and court. Henry's collection embraced virtuoso continental objects as well as vast quantities of plate commissioned from London goldsmiths or inherited from his father. But nearly all were destroyed over the following century and no more than a handful have survived. This book makes use of surviving documentation to explore the collection and the light it sheds on the monarchy. Starting with an assessment of the young king's inheritance from his father, it considers the role of plate at banquets, in church services and in the exchange of gifts between courtiers and