The portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, sits pride of place at Melton Carnegie Museum. When Culture Leicestershire dug further into Villiers' story, a new purpose was revealed, raising questions for Culture Leicestershire about who gets to make history, and how we can honour hidden stories.
Alison and Esther from Culture Leicestershire took us through their experience of exploring the life and times of King James I's 'husband'.
The portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham has been in Leicestershire’s museum collections since 1938 and has been on display for most of that time. But while our interpretation acknowledged that Villiers was a ‘favourite’ of King James I, it didn’t explore what this really meant.
Guest curator Jon Sleigh identified the story behind this painting as having the potential to really connect with LGBTQ+ audiences. It was time to look beyond that ‘coded’ language and reveal the LGBTQ+ possibility that it held.
We made the painting more accessible by having it professionally cleaned and reglazed by conservators, researched Buckingham’s life and worked with Jon to make this a thoughtful, welcoming and inclusive celebration of queerness in Leicestershire.
LGBTQ+ history matters and shouldn’t just be celebrated during February. The Villiers Revealed exhibition is just the start of Culture Leicestershire’s commitment to how we can represent the lives and loves of Leicestershire’s LGBTQ+ communities.
Person: Alison Clague, Esther Shaw
To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, the council’s LGBTQ+ Staff Network went to see the exhibition. Kit, a co-chair for the Staff Network, described their experience.
The portrait is large – magnanimous. You have to look up to look him in the eye. He is brazen and unapologetic. He wants you to reckon with him. At Melton, we are invited to reckon with him back. You don’t have to know about Buckingham beforehand to get immersed: you’re guided on a journey of exploration and authenticity to discover the rise and fall of a Midlands courtier, and find the man behind the painting.
Buckingham was a fascinating character for so many reasons. But for the Staff Network, there was an extra importance. When you are so often left out of history, being invited in feels significant. This visit gave us the chance to be our full selves together – something we strive to provide when we meet as a Staff Network.
Culture Leicestershire are raising questions about how we represent people’s lives, so that more people in our area can see themselves in their local and national culture. So that everyone can enjoy history as part of their story too.
Looking at his portrait, I felt myself stand a little taller that day. I had no extravagant clothing like him – just a denim overcoat and short shorn hair – but at Melton Museum I felt my history staring right back at me.
Person:Kit Prime, Communications Officer, co-chair of the LGBTQ+ Staff Network
The Villiers Revealed exhibition is at Melton Carnegie Museum (free) until Saturday 28 June 2025. You can book your place on Jon Sleigh’s talk, “Hiding in Plain Sight” about the exhibition on 26 February now.
Discover more inspiring projects in the county with Culture Leicestershire.