The Victoria and Albert Museum has raised funds to buy four bronze angels originally designed for the tomb of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII's influential advisor. The V&A said last year it would cost £5 million to secure the figurines.
The statues are "a vital part of our national history and artistic heritage," director Martin Roth said. The cardinal, who appears in Hilary Mantel's novel Wolf Hall - currently being shown on BBC1 - died in 1530.
