Much fun was had last night on the Society’s Terrible Tudors and Silly Stuarts tour at the National Portrait Gallery, led by Caroline Piper. The group enjoyed tales of Henry VIII and his 6 wives, Elizabeth I and her 0 children, Charles I and his 0 head (it was chopped off!), Charles II and his 14 illegitimate children and poor Queen Anne and her 18 pregnancies. We met the monarchs’ lovers, wives, favourites, children and enemies. We discussed their health, from legs weeping pus from open ulcers (Henry VIII) to an unfortunate inferiority complex combined with a belief in the Divine Right of Kings (Charles I) and by the end of the evening were convinced they were truly terrible and surprisingly silly. The photos show the group in front of a portrait of Charles II with paintings of two of his mistresses above our heads (one photo has Caroline in the middle and the other has David, our chairman). It is quite interesting to reflect that Princes William and Harry are descended, through their mother Princess Diana, from an illegitimate son of each of those mistresses, Barbara Villiers, the Duchess of Cleveland and Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth.
Organised by Caroline Piper and Dave Hughes