Early kings and queens

One of the most important surviving sets of Tudor royal portraits returns to Montacute as a special display. Painted between 1590 and 1610, this lively and entertaining visual chronology of English monarchy includes images of rulers from William the Conqueror (1027-87) to Mary I (1516-58).

Extensive technical analysis of the set was carried out in 2011, including dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) and x-radiography, and the findings are the subject of this display. The set of sixteen portraits was previously in the collection of the Duke of Leeds before purchase by the National Portrait Gallery in 1974 and loan to Montacute the following year.