Good news stories from the past seven days
Thomas Cromwell’s personal prayer book has been found in a Cambridge library, where it has been hiding in plain sight for centuries. “The Book of Hours”, which features in Hans Holbein’s portrait of the Tudor statesman, was identified by historians who had discovered that both Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon owned copies of the same 1527 edition. They had learnt that Trinity College’s Wren Library also had a copy, so went to see it – and recognised its bejewelled, silver gilt binding from Holbein’s painting. Tudor historian Tracy Borman called it “the most exciting Cromwell discovery in a generation – if not more”.
