Reliquary pendant with Queen Margaret of Sicily

Queen Margaret, wife of King William I of Sicily and mother of King William II, corresponded with the Archbishop
of Canterbury Thomas Becket and gave refuge to his relatives. After Becket’s murder by followers of the English king Henry II in 1170, he was worshipped as a martyr across Europe and canonised by Pope Alexander III. This reliquary pendant depicting Queen Margaret originally held fragments of Becket’s blood-stained cloak, belt, hood, shoe and shirt.