New portrait of 'lost queen' Arbella Stuart identified by academics • The Crown Chronicles

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

1 3 minutes read

Art historians have discovered a new portrait of Elizabeth I's cousin and potential heir, Arbella Stuart – the Queen of England never had.

Dating from 1592, the painting was created by the talented miniaturist Nicholas Hilliard, known for his delicate yet realistic portable images. This piece is larger than many of his works, as a cabinet miniature measuring 21.1 cm (8.3 in) by 17.6 cm (6.9 in) and was found in a private collection.

Hilliard portrait of Arbella Stuart discovered in private collection, opening story of political intrigue

Hilliard depicted the 16-year-old aristocrat wearing fine court dress in a garden at Greenwich Palace, and the piece was intended to woo a key Catholic Spaniard into a marriage alliance with Protestant England.

You may notice here Arbella's visual resemblance to portraits of Elizabeth I, a deliberate choice to “cast her in the mold of Elizabeth I”, shared art historians Elizabeth Goldring and Emma Rutherford, who made the discovery and brought the puzzle pieces of its history together.

Born in 1575, Lady Arbella Stuart – also Arabella – was the niece of Mary, Queen of Scots, through her second marriage to Henry, Lord Darnley, and the great-granddaughter of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII and the grandmother of Henry VIII. As Elizabeth I grew childless, thoughts turned to her successor; Of good royal stock, Arabella was considered a potential heir.

Bess of Hardwick raised her granddaughter, Lady Arbella Stuart; she was a close friend of Elizabeth I and the second richest woman in England (Wikipedia)

She had been raised by her grandmother Bess of Hardwick, after the death of her parents when she was 6, and probably under the tutelage of Christopher Marlowe. Bess was a politically astute woman, with funds that rivaled those of the Queen.

Dr. Goldring, author of Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artistsaid: “It is a discovery that not only enriches our understanding of Hilliard's life and work, but also sheds new light on the intersection of art, politics and religion at the end of the Elizabethan court.”

Lady Arbella made her first appearance at court in 1587 when she was summoned by Elizabeth I to continue negotiations for a marriage to Rainuccio Farnese, heir to the Duchy of Parma.

The political intrigue, however, begins with the purpose of the portrait. The aim was to facilitate a marriage between Farnese and the young aristocrat – or at least to make Spain believe that an alliance between the Duke (Philip II's governor general in the Spanish Netherlands) and England was on today's agenda.

At the time, marriage was a diplomatic weapon, and this particular correspondence was part of Elizabeth's court policy to separate “Parma from Spain and Spain from the Netherlands, for the benefit of Protestant England. Even the mention of an alliance of this type “would unbalance Philip II”, the researchers shared.

Another idea is that the marriage may have been suggested in order to defuse tensions with Spain following the recent execution of the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots.

The temperature reports that Hilliard received £400 for his miniature, while apprentice Rowland Lockey was commissioned to make a copy for much less. According to the research team, this copy was sent to Parma in place of the original because the Hilliard is still in “excellent condition, with remarkably vibrant colors” and few signs of wear from such a trip.

In 1610, Lady Arbella challenged King James I to marry the husband of his choice, William Seymour. He was sixth in line to the throne as the grandson of Lady Katherine Gray (a nine-day-old younger sister of Queen Lady Jane Grey) and granddaughter of Mary Tudor, younger sister of Henry VIII.

Seen as part of a possible plan to take the crown, Seymour was imprisoned and Lady Arbella placed under house arrest.

After a failed attempt to escape England, Lady Arbella was imprisoned in the Tower of London, where she died five years later, in 1615, following a hunger strike. She was 39 years old.

Arbella died at the Tower of London in 1615, after a hunger strike.

Dr Goldring said: “Arbella’s Hilliard Cabinet miniature enriches our understanding not only of her artistic production, but also of the complex political landscape and visual culture of late Elizabethan England. »

Rutherford added: “Arbella’s life was steeped in intrigue and political strategy. Hilliard's portrait of Arbella captures her regal stature and potential as a future queen, offering a glimpse into the world of Elizabethan court politics.