Minette Butler
Position: Assistant Curator of Public History
About
Minette joined the curatorial team in 2023, having studied with Historic Royal Palaces and QMUL on their joint MA program in Heritage Management. As curator of the National Funeral Museum, her research focused on the histories and material culture of death, mourning and undertaking in Great Britain. At HRP, she conducts historical research and collaborates in the production of digital outputs such as web pages, podcasts, and social media.
Minette’s research interests include Hampton Court’s ‘Grace and Favour’ period, with particular focus on the community’s social life as well as the presence of naval officers, polar explorers and their families amongst the palace’s residents.
Minette also researches the role of the palaces during the First and Second World Wars. This research supported two remembrance installations at the Tower of London, Poppy Fields at the Tower (2024) and The Tower Remembers (2025).
Select publications
Butler, M., ‘The King’s Favourite: George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham’, HRP Blog, February 2024.
‘Butler, M., ‘Hampton Court and the Unknown Warrior’, HRP Blog, 2024.
Butler, M., ‘The Explorer and the Artist: The Wedding of Captain Scott and Kathleen Bruce at Hampton Court’, HRP Blog, January 2024.
All articles by Minette Butler (5)
'Castles of the air': Defending the Tower of London during the Second World War
10 November 2025
When London faced the fury of the Blitz during the Second World War, the Tower of London found a new way to protect the city from the sky – a huge hydrogen-filled 'barrage balloon'.
'Buried Among Kings': Hampton Court and the Coffin of the Unknown Warrior
11 November 2024
On 11 November 1920 the Unknown Warrior was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, in a coffin said to have been made of Hampton Court oak.
'Washing the Lions': A Famous April Fools Hoax at the Tower of London
01 April 2024
The Tower of London is home to Britain’s earliest recorded April Fool’s prank – the so-called 'Annual Ceremony of Washing the Lions'.
The King’s Favourite: George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
01 February 2024
In the ruthless world of the Stuart court, royal favour was everything. No one knew this better than George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, whose rise to power was built on the love and patronage of James I.
The Wedding of Captain Scott and Kathleen Bruce at Hampton Court Palace
04 January 2024
Assistant Curator Minette Butler explores how Captain Scott's wedding to his beloved wife Kathleen Bruce at Hampton Court Palace intertwines with the aftermath of his ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole.