14 DAY TRIAL // DNA evidence presented in a paper published in yesterday's issue of the European Journal of Human Genetics suggests that a mummified head identified as Henry IV's belongs to a person other than the late French king.
Live Science tells us that the king reigned in France between the years 1589 – 1610. He is said to have lost his head not at the time of his death, but several decades later, during the French Revolution.
Thus, word has it that he was exhumed and beheaded in 1793 by revolutionaries who were dead set on proving that they had absolutely no respect for royalty.
The head was identified as belonging to the King Henry IV about three years ago, based on evidence showing that its anatomy resembled portraits of the late monarch.
However, a recent study shows that the DNA samples collected from the mummified head don't have all that much in common with folks in the House of Bourbon, i.e. Henry's lineage.
Due to the fact that scientists examining the head weren't able to collect that much DNA, their results are far from being bulletproof. Still, the findings are more than enough for researchers to now start questioning the head's identity.