The Monarchy

  • Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Elizabeth I



    Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
    Portrait of Elizabeth I
    About 1586-7
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard; set into a vellum mount in the 17th century
    Inscribed on the mount in Latin 'Elizabeth Queen of England'
    Museum no. P.23-1975
    Bequeathed by Mrs Doris Herschorn

    Elizabeth was now about 53.As she grew older poets and painters increasingly emphasised her supposedly divine power. Late portraits of the queen were rarely simple likenesses. Here, the crescent moon jewel in her hair symbolises the goddess Diana.

  • Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Elizabeth I



    Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
    Portrait of Elizabeth I
    About 1600
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard
    Museum no. P.1-1974
    Purchased from the Earl of Radnor with the aid of a special Treasury Grant

    Elizabeth reigned from 1558 to 1603. In her later years anxiety increased about who would inherit the throne. Hilliard responded with images that portrayed her as ever youthful. To emphasise Elizabeth's role as queen, he concentrated on her fantastic costumes.

  • Isaac Oliver, portrait of Elizabeth I



    Isaac Oliver a(bout 1560-1617)
    Portrait of Elizabeth I
    About 1590-2
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a playing card
    Museum no. P.8-1940
    Purchased with funds from the R.H. Stephenson Bequest

    This was probably a 'face-pattern' for other artists, especially printmakers, to copy. Oliver's use of shadow has emphasised that Elizabeth was nearly 60. Later her government later tried to suppress such honest images.

  • Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of James I



    Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
    Portrait of James I
    About 1604
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a playing card
    Inscribed within the border in Latin, 'James, by the grace of God King of Great Britain, France and Scotland'
    Museum no. P.3-1937

    James was the son of Elizabeth's cousin and great rival, Mary, Queen of Scots. He inherited the English throne after Elizabeth's death in 1603.

  • Isaac Oliver, portrait of Anne of Denmark



    Isaac Oliver (about 1560-1617)
    Portrait of Anne of Denmark, Queen of James I
    About 1612
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard
    Museum no. FA.689

    James Stuart married Anne of Denmark in 1589 when he was James VI of Scotland. She produced two male heirs, Prince Henry and Prince Charles, and a marriageable daughter, Princess Elizabeth.

  • Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Princess Elizabeth



    Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
    Portrait of Princess Elizabeth'
    About 1606-9
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to a playing card
    Museum no. P.4-1937

    Elizabeth was James I's only daughter, born in 1596. She married the future King of Bohemia in 1613 and was known as 'Elizabeth of Bohemia'. Her grandson became George I, the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain.

  • Nicholas Hilliard, portrait of Charles I



    Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
    Portrait of Charles I, when Duke of York
    About 1605-8
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard
    Museum no. P.10-1947
    Given by E. Peter Jones

    Charles was James I's youngest son, born in 1600. He was a weak child, but when his athletic older brother Henry died unexpectedly in 1612, he became Prince of Wales.

  • John Hoskins, portrait of James I



    John Hoskins (about 1590-1664/5)
    Portrait of James I
    About 1620-5
    Museum no. P.27-1954
    Watercolour on vellum, stuck to pasteboard

    James I (1566-1625) is shown here a few years before his death. He wears round his neck the distinctive blue ribbon of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of chivalry.

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