Tudors To Windsors: British Royal Portraits – National Maritime Museum, London

A whirlwind introduction to the British monarchy through royal portraits turns out to be refreshingly frank and interesting. A good avenue for the National Portrait Gallery to present their collection in a new way while they renovate their own building.

Am I At The National Maritime Museum Or The National Portrait Gallery?

A few institutions probably timed their major renovations very well in hindsight, and were already planning to be closed during what turned out to be one of the toughest times ever for the arts. The National Portrait Gallery was one of these (the Courtauld, for example, was another). Generally institutions will plan a series of external exhibitions during any lengthy closure. It helps them to stay in the public consciousness, and recognises that their collections are community assets. So with the National Portrait Gallery closed from 2020 until 2023, it’s not surprising that they have organised exhibitions with partners.

I hadn’t quite realised that that’s what this exhibition at the National Maritime Museum is, but it makes sense. Who else, after all, has a top notch selection of paintings of British royals at the ready? It is more focused than the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection; there the various royals pop up in their respective historic periods. And it’s not just monarchs: there are almost monarchs (Lady Jane Grey), favourites and mistresses (George Villiers, Nell Gwyn) and anti-royals (Oliver Cromwell). The exhibition isn’t entirely drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection, either, but it’s close (maybe 90%). In summary, not quite a National Portrait Gallery Lite, more like National Portrait Gallery Greatest Hits.

So what is the exhibition like? How have the curators taken a staple of history and made it relevant and interesting to today’s audiences? Read on to find out more.

A Tour Of British Royal Portraits

Firstly, let me say that this exhibition is really well laid-out to be engaging and interesting. It doesn’t cover the entirety of British kings and queens, just the ones that we know (more or less Henry VIII onwards). It doesn’t go into loads of detail, either. Each historic figure is represented by at most a couple of portraits. The information panels are direct and to the point. There are timelines, and family trees. So you can know very little about the royals going in, and come out with a working knowledge. And if you want to dive a bit deeper, there are a few interactive panels around.

For a big time museum nerd I frequently have a short attention span in exhibitions, so this was perfect for me. I bounced around looking at the royal portraits and reading about the subjects. I learned a few facts, and where different individuals fit in. In particular I enjoyed some of the non-royal inclusions, and some of the odder items. Oliver Cromwell‘s death mask, for example, or Charles I as a Christian martyr (both above). Or the juxtaposition of Nell Gywn showing off her assets, opposite very proper little royal wife Catherine of Braganza.

So from the perspective of a nice, interesting, historic exhibition, this is quite a good one. The other thing I found interesting was the ‘warts-and-all’ approach of the curators. They are very open about mistresses, dalliances and even anti-abolitionist sentiments. This is less apparent as you get closer to the Windsors: there is a certain level of respect required when you are talking about the current Queen or her immediate family, vs. her ancestors a couple of centuries ago. But still an interesting approach and one that I found refreshing.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating 3.5/5

Tudors to Windsors on until 31 October 2021

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