Sir Thomas More, who coined the word "utopia," was a noted Renaissance statesman and humanist beheaded at the orders of Henry VIII. Here's the story of what happened to his head, according to Historic U.K.:
"Sir Thomas was beheaded in 1535. He had enraged Henry VIII by refusing to acknowledge that the king’s marriage to Anne Boleyn was legal. More’s head was taken from the scaffold and parboiled, stuck on a pole and exhibited on London Bridge. His devoted daughter, Margaret Roper, bribed the bridge-keeper to knock it down and she smuggled it home. She preserved the head in spices but was betrayed by spies and imprisoned, but was soon released. Margaret died in 1544 and Sir Thomas’ head was buried with her. In 1824 her vault was opened and More’s head was put on public view in St. Dunstan’s Church in Canterbury for many years."Read more stories of errant body parts, including who ate Louis XIV's heart at Bits and Pieces / Historic UK
Paintings: "Portrait of Sir Thomas More" by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527 (top); "Margaret Roper Rescuing the Head of Her Father," by Lucy Madox Brown, 1873.
Wikipedia on Sir Thomas More
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