A selection of Black history stories and research from our experts
John and Mary
Black Children at Queen Anne's Court?
On 20 August 1704, during the reign of Queen Anne, a boy and a girl arrived at the Chapel Royal located within the heart of St James’s Palace. It was a Sunday, and they were there to be baptised, to receive the sacrament which would grant them admission into the Church of England.
Samuel Bentham, who was one of the Queen’s Gentlemen of the Chapel, would perform the baptism, by pouring water over their heads. Few children were baptised at St James’s during Anne’s reign, and this event was even more unusual because the children — who were given the names 'John' and 'Mary' — were Black.
In her new blog post, Dr Misha Ewen, Lecturer in American History at the University of Sussex, explores what we know of John and Mary, and how they might have come to be at Queen Anne’s court.
Learn more about John and Mary
Image: View of St James’s Palace, period of Queen Anne. From The New York Public Library
Searching for the Young Black Man in the Portrait of William III
A two-part research series
A young Black man dressed in blue and gold holding a helmet stands beside William III (1689- 1702) in a portrait that is a focal point of our exhibition: Untold Lives: A Palace at Work.
The painting has hung in several royal palaces including Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, St. James’, and Kensington Palace, for at least 200 years, yet the identity of the young man in the painting remains hidden from us. Who was he? Where did he live and when? Why is he in the painting with William III? And how can historians unravel the mystery surrounding him?
In this two-part series, Dr. Mishka Sinha, Curator of Inclusive History, and PhD student at Historic Royal Palaces and University of Manchester, Camilla de Koning, pick up this fascinating search from picture to archive and back again.
Part I: Legacies and Provenance
Image: William III (1650-1702) with a page c.1670-1832. © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2024 | Royal Collection Trust
Forgotten Stories from the Royal Court
Untold Lives: A Palace at Work at Kensington Palace explores the forgotten stories of those who served the royal court over 300 years ago.
The exhibition team worked with contemporary artists to bring some forgotten stories into the spotlight and ensure that their legacy at the palace lives on. Included is a portrait by Peter Brathwaite, whose work highlights the King's Staircase page boy and trumpeter by William Kent, 1725–7.
Image: Detail of a wall painting on the King's Staircase at Kensington Palace, by William Kent. A page boy can be seen on the far right. © Historic Royal Palaces
Image: Peter Brathwaite's work in Untold Lives, alongside William Kent's original painting. © Historic Royal Palaces, Peter Brathwaite, courtesy of Autograph, London
'My work shines a spotlight on the Black trumpeter and Black courtier painted above the King’s Staircase at Kensington Palace. I see a skilled Black musician, executing the complex West African rhythms described by Europeans as sounding like “water dropping over a cliff onto a stone ledge”.
I use costumes and props to show how music gives expression to the ways migrants shape new identities amid alien cultures, how music became “social glue” for those enslaved or in servitude. As a second generation immigrant, my photography is one way that I can reclaim the parts of my heritage that are intangible – the shapes, sounds, and rhythms that reverberate through our shared past.'
Peter Brathwaite, artist
Historic Royal Palaces commission
Untold Lives: A Palace at Work
Until 27 October 2024
A new exhibition at Kensington Palace, uncovering the forgotten stories of those who worked at the royal palaces over 300 years ago.
Edward Francis
An Enslaved African Who Lived at the Tower of London
Edward Francis was an enslaved African who poisoned his owner Thomas Dymock, the Keeper of the Lions at the Tower of London, in the late 1600s in a bid to gain his freedom.
Edward's extraordinary story sheds new light on slavery and resistance at the Tower of London, as well as the broader context of slavery in English law and society.
Read Edward's story
Image: © Historic Royal Palaces
Black Presence at the Tudor Court
Listen to the podcast
In this talk, art historian Michael Ohajuru and historian Miranda Kaufmann discuss their research into Black Tudors in England during the 16th century.
The Story of John Blanke
A Black musician at the Tudor court
John Blanke was a royal trumpeter in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII, and remains the only Black Tudor for whom we have an identifiable image. While serving two kings, he bore witness to some of the great moments in England's history and contributed to some of the greatest spectacles of the Tudor age.
Black Presence at the Tudor Court
Hear from experts on our blog
Historian and Director of The John Blanke Project Michael Ohajuru discusses the presence of Black people at the Tudor court.
Explore other stories from our palaces
Phillis Wheatley Visits the Tower of London
The first published African American woman visits the Tower
In October 1773, Phillis Wheatley wrote to Col. David Worcester, describing a recent trip to London where she visited the Tower. Curator Charles Farris introduces her incredible life and career.
Sarah Forbes Bonetta and 'Contested History'
Blog by Zeinab Badawi
Journalist and former Historic Royal Palaces Trustee Zeinab Badawi shares her thoughts on the importance of welcoming diverse perspectives on our past, and the problem with the term "contested history".