Position: Assistant Curator of Public History
About
Minette conducts historical research and collaborates in the production of content for digital outputs. This includes web pages, blog posts, podcasts, and social media. Her research background includes the histories of death, mourning and funeral practices as curator of the National Funeral Museum. This covered a wide range of British royal, social, and scientific history between 1603 to the present day.
Her personal research interests include the histories of exploration, particularly into Arctic and Antarctic polar regions. At Historic Royal Palaces, this includes exploring the presence of polar explorers, their families and the broader naval community at Hampton Court Palace during the Grace and Favour period. Her research also explores the presence and experience of Indigenous Peoples across Historic Royal Palaces’ six sites from the late 16th to 19th centuries.
Select publications
Butler, M., ‘The King’s Favourite: George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham’, HRP Blog, February 2024.
Butler, M., ‘Anne of Cleves: The Great Survivor’, HRP History and Stories, 2024.
Butler, M., ‘The Explorer and the Artist: The Wedding of Captain Scott and Kathleen Bruce at Hampton Court’, HRP Blog, January 2024.