The Dean of Canterbury and other Cathedral staff were faced with a strange task.

They were to open up the Cathedral’s only tomb of a monarch, holding the remains of Henry IV. Or at least they hoped it was.

Because for centuries there had been doubts the king - who reigned from 1399 till his death in 1413 - was actually in there.

The story went that during a dinner party in Hounslow some weeks after the king died, those present were singing the praises of the late monarch.

Then one guest said: “God knows whether he was a good man; but this I know for certain, that while his body was conveying in a small vessel from Westminster towards Canterbury, to be buried there, I was one of three persons who threw the corpse into the sea, between Berking and Gravesend.”

A storm had been raging at the time and it is thought the superstitious sailors tossed the king overboard to try to calm the weather.

This would certainly have disappointed Henry, who had requested Canterbury as his resting place in his will.

He felt a close association with Thomas Becket and was anointed at his coronation service with a phial of holy oil allegedly received by the former Archbishop from the Virgin Mary.

In order to finally put the rumours to bed, in 1832 the Dean and some canons inspected the tomb, some 419 years after the burial.

They had to saw through the lid of the coffin, and then cut through a leaden case within.

Under this they found leather wrappers “of a deep brown colour and earthy smell”, according to historic documents posted online by the Kent Archaeological Society.

“These wrappers were cut through and lifted off, when, to the astonishment of all present, the face of the deceased King was seen in complete preservation,” it continues.

Even Henry’s “thick and matted” russet beard still adorned his chin.

*Sources: Kent Archaeological Society and Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society.