A portrait of the Leicestershire-born ‘favourite’ of King James I, whose story was turned into a smash-hit TV drama, is now taking centre stage in a new exhibition at Melton Carnegie Museum.
‘Villiers Revealed – the darling of the Stuart court’ charts the story of George Villiers, who rose with astonishing speed from humble beginnings to the aristocratic ranks, becoming Duke of Buckingham in 1623 and exerting great political power and influence.
Villiers, born at Brooksby Hall near Melton, was subject to speculation as to the nature of his relationship with the King, with historical evidence detailing an intense closeness as the King publicly lavished him with kisses and declared himself as ‘husband.’
Language such as ‘favourite’ or ‘companion’ have been used to describe queer lives and relationships in historical records or art history, and subsequently, Villiers is now seen as one of the most prominent figures in British LGBTQ+ history.
The exhibition, developed and researched by Leicestershire County Council, is being co-curated by Jon Sleigh, LGBTQ+ learning curator.
This is a fascinating exhibition as it unravels how a boy from rural Leicestershire grew up to rise to fame and shaped the course of early 17th-century Britain. There are lots of Leicestershire connections and I would encourage people to go and take a look at the exhibition.
Person:Councillor Christine Radford, cabinet member for heritage
The story of the relationship between Villiers and his mother, Mary, who moulded her son to gain influence and power within the King’s court, was also the subject of a recent Sky TV drama 'Mary and George', starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine.
Lisha Zhang, who made ruffs for the series, designed a specially-made ruff based on the one shown in the portrait, another feature of the fascinating exhibition.
The portrait itself was bought by the county council’s museum service in 1938 from the Warwickshire estate of Newnham Paddox, which was the home of Villiers’ brother-in-law.
he portrait is now thought to have been painted by Paul van Somer, an artist from Antwerp who worked in Britain from 1616 until his death in 1621 or 1622. He also painted portraits of King James I and his wife, Queen Anne of Denmark.
The Villiers exhibition runs until next June.