King Charles I's ring found in River Thames

A silver hawking ring owned by King Charles I has been found in a spoil heap by the side of the river Thames.

The ring, which would have been used for hunting with a hawk, was discovered in the late 1980s by father-of-15 Roy Davis, now 82.

He was searching with his metal detector on a Saturday morning on some Billingsgate spoil heaps from the river Thames when he made the discovery.

Roy did not originally realise its importance, but cleaned it recently and noticed the name of the British monarch, who was executed in after losing to parliamentary forces in England's Civil War, inscribed on the ring. It will now be included in a sale of Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of Vertu at Noonans Mayfair on Tuesday, 12 March, 2024.

It is estimated to fetch between £2,000-3,000. Roy explains: "The tiny ring was heavily encrusted when found and I thought nothing of it, so I put it aside. Going through some old finds recently I decided to clean the ring and saw it was inscribed with a royal coat of arms and the legend Charles King."

Nigel Mills, Artefact and Coin expert at Noonans adds: "Our current King Charles III became an avid polo player from the age of 15, but in the 16th and 17th centuries it was falconry that was keenly followed by Royalty and the nobility. Charles I would have owned a number of trained birds of prey used for hunting small game such as rabbits, and it is likely he would have kept some of his hawks at the Tower of London." He continues: "This is a very exciting find with only one other known example in the British Museum, as well as other vervels that belonged to Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and James I."