Today's visit to the National Portrait Gallery cemented the timeline of British monarchs in my head...essential for cataloguing, dating, and identifying portraits (and really any of the decorative arts - especially in the 18th century - "Georgian" furniture is perhaps the most valuable and expensive furniture on the market right now along with 18th century French rococo & regence period pieces).
In an effort to REALLY get this stuff firmly in my mind, I thought I would share it. The best way to learn is to teach, right?
First up...we'll start with Elizabeth I. Daughter of Henry VIII (and we all know him) and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1559 after both her brother, Edward VI, and sister, Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary) had their turns. There are quite a few portraits of the queen and due to her exceptionally long reign - we can see her face age and her fashions change as time passes.
Here is an early version of Elizabeth... c.1560
c. 1575
c. 1592
(notice how the waistline has become much more pointed and ruff, which is the lace collar around the neck, has changed)
and c. 1600.
Interestingly, this one below was probably done posthumously by looking at printed images of the queen from 1559 - the fashion of the sloping shoulders was contemporary with the time it was painted but the face is the face of a young Elizabeth from 40 years earlier. This was no matter though - people just wanted to see a powerful symbol of the nation (this picture shows anything but a weak leader) but the fashionable sloping shoulders made her look modern.
Ok, enough of her. Next up is James I (and James IV of Scotland), who reigned 1603 - 1625
He was a Stuart and although was the son of Mary Queen of Scots (Catholic), he was raised Protestant. It was during his reign that the "Gunpowder Plot" took place. He also was the first king to rule over both England and Scotland simultaneously (even though they were not formally united until 1707). See shakespeare post for more re: James. Fun fact about this guy - he never allowed water to touch his body his entire life.
James died in 1625. His youngest son, Charles, ascended the throne the same year (the oldest son, Henry, died in his twenties - see post on Henry: The Lost Prince for more info on that...and the middle child was a female).
Charles I didn't last long unfortunately...he lost his head in the English Civil War in 1649. This probably had something to do with his extravagent taste for the arts, disregard for and dismissal of parliament, and attempts to impose religious uniformity. He married Henrietta Maria, a Catholic Portuguese princess. After so much Protestant antagonism, Catholic sympathies were suspicious.
The "interregnum" is the story of Cromwell, not a monarch, and in classical puritan manner, rejected the frivolity of expensive art, tapestries, and furniture. He sold most of the collection Charles I assembled. Also loathed by most Irish citizens...he doesn't get a portrait here. Onto the Restoration (1660) with Charles II.
Quite the lascivious womanizer, James II was known for his many mistresses and illegitimate children. He too was deposed for his Catholic sympathies though...this was the end of the Stuart line in England.
In 1688, William III and Mary II were invited back to England (they were in the Netherlands) to make sure Protestantism continued to reign. Mary was the daughter of James II but William, her Dutch cousin, was Hanoverian.
Queen Anne reigned after this pair from 1702 - 1714. Tragically, Anne had 18 pregnancies but not one of her children lived past childhood.
After her death began the Georges, or "Georgian" period...
George I (reigned 1714 - 1727)
George II (reigned 1727 - 1760)
and George III (1760 - 1820)
and that brings us to the 19th century, which is further than we've gone so far in the course...will get there soon!
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