Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits

by Stephen Millar

One day in the 1860s, so the story goes, an ambitious up-and-coming female sculptor was making love to an older, married man in an art studio. It was complicated because the man was not only one of the most famous sculptors in the country, but the young woman’s teacher and mentor. Things got worse when they were rudely interrupted by the woman’s mother, accompanied by her faithful servant. The mother, shocked at what she had stumbled across, was dressed in black, still mourning the death of her beloved husband. She screamed at her daughter.

And on this occasion, the young woman screamed back, one of the very few people who would dare stand up to such a formidable figure. The daughter accused her mother of hypocrisy, of having an affair with the kilted servant who stood by her side, and threatened to expose her mother’s affair to the wider world if she continued to menace her. (An excerpt from the Chapter XIII)

People have long been fascinated by the stories behind royal portraits. This volume takes readers inside royal families by way of great paintings, like Holbein's Henry VIII , van Dyck's Charles I , Millais' The Princes in the Tower , Freud's Elizabeth II , and more. Featuring incredible, little known stories of the royals and illustrates, this beautiful collection is illustrated with color paintings, photos, family trees and Royal London walking tours with maps.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Art History, Royalty

268 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2020

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen Millar examines British royal portraits and artwork created about royalty throughout history. In examining the small details and the context around the art, he shines the light on so many moments of forgotten history.

Through the strategic use of art, royals have controlled their images and used those images to maintain or increase their power. Take, for example, how the famous portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger affected viewers:

"Strategically placed in the Palace of Whitehall and measuring three metres by four, the wall painting dominated the privy chamber where it was located. The effect on visitors was dramatic, one writing it was so 'lifelike that the spectator felt abashed, annihilated in its presence.'" loc 444, ebook

Millar examines postures, costuming, setting and more so readers feel as if they have a new appreciation of these classic works of art. We're also given an insider's view and able to appreciate nuances that we might otherwise have missed.

"Why was Holbein's depiction of Henry so influential? The stance taken by the king in the painting was radical, unashamedly masculine and defiant, with Henry staring directly at the viewer in a way that was highly unusual in royal portraiture in the early 16th century." loc 457, ebook

My favorite of the art discussions is "The Rainbow Portrait" of Elizabeth I by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger or Isaac Oliver. There is so much symbolism packed into one portrait. It's fun to take it all apart.

Plus, Elizabeth I is one of my favorite historical figures. I go on about that in my review of Elizabeth I by Margaret George.

Millar helpfully includes the family tree of the royals every couple of chapters so its easy to keep track of who is who. And after the art, there's a whole section of walking tours through London. At first, the two parts of the book seem unrelated, but when you go through the tours, you notice that he brought forward some of the history from the art and tied it to real world locations.

Talk about making history come alive.

Highly recommended for fans of history, especially forgotten history. Though some of the figures and events are well known, this book contained a few I had never heard of, which is always exciting to discover.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook.

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

FELT LIKE TWO BOOKS MASHED TOGETHER

Actual rating: 2.5⭐

From what I gathered, this book was an attempt to tell the story of Britain's royalty through influential paintings. Or perhaps it is the other way around? The purpose was never truly clear to me and reading the book certainly didn't help me - I just didn't see it. Be it the one or the other, the one thing that I gathered was that paintings had a special place in this story telling. Sadly, I didn't feel like the paintings were given their due diligence. They were referenced, yes, many of them were described, sure. But very few of them were analysed or put into context. For me, there was real lack of discussion about the paintings, their value, their importance, their symbolism and their effect on the royals as well as the population of England. It just felt all around lacking.

But the paintings are only the first part of this book. The second part is a comprehensive tour book of London. Which is not a bad thing per say. But honestly, what is it doing in a book about British royal portraits??? I could understand devoting a couple of pages to listing where the different paintings can be seen. But for more than half of the book to be different walking tours of London? It juts felt very out of place to me...

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this on the whole, but I felt that the two distinct parts didn’t really merge together satisfactorily, as though one had simply been tacked on to the other to make up a whole book. As it is, a full half of the book comprises the index and a list of where the paintings mentioned are to be found. Not great value for money. Be that as it may, the first half of the book is about key paintings of royalty through the ages with a potted history of Britain to accompany them. Nicely done but with little depth. The next part comprises 4 Royal London Walking Tours, again with some good illustrations, but probably of limited interest to anyone not able to actually walk them.
A tip – you need to read either a hard copy or on a Kindle app to see the paintings in colour. An actual Kindle is of limited use.

[Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I was expecting a little more of an extended analysis in here, this turned out to be a worthy read. I think it's the perfect book for someone interested in this subject, but maybe doesn't know a whole lot about it. The discussions of art and history are simple making it easy to follow but detailed enough that you come away feeling like you've learnt something.

[O. D. Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Desperate to save him, King James permitted his son to suffer the barbaric medical treatments of the day. This involved repeatedly being bled, having holes drilled in his head, and a slaughtered chicken held to the soles of his feet.”

This book tells bits of British history through the art that captured these moments, and also gives you a guide to sight-see in London. The actual page count is misleading because, the content of this book stops halfway through and the rest of the pages are the extensive index and so on. The first 42% is a collection of historical stories and tidbits, not always told in order. The next 8% is a step by step walking tour of London. This section wasn’t that interesting to me because I am too far away to be able to use it but I did see a few photos of places that I have been to in the past when I visited London, and that was kind of fun seeing those and feeling nostalgic. There are some places I had visited and I HAD fond memories of going there, but now that I know of the places’ dark pasts… I just wish I didn’t know some things. This book could be a good choice if you are planning a trip to the UK, whether for the walking tours or just to get some history. I did find some of the historical tidbits interesting. There are also maps and family trees that may be useful to some.

“He also had a team of dedicated torturers and executioners able to force secrets out of Catholic plotters, whose identities had been discovered after codes were broken.”

The worst part I think of all these crazy stories is the horrible ways children were treated. From being married at 9, or locked up at 6 until death at 14, some were assassinated or executed, and I don’t even want to know what happened to Anne aged 3. And all of it was just for someone’s evil plot to control the crown. This theme became really redundant and I couldn’t help wondering if 16-year-old Lady Jane Grey (seen on the book cover) was so brave in facing the axe because up to this point her life had been so awful that she might not have felt like she was going to miss it. The matter of fact manner in which these tragic stories are told does make them easier to digest but wow this is some dark history.

“Paul Delaroche’s romanticised depiction of Jane’s execution is not fully accurate historically. Jane did not wear white, the axeman was masked and the execution took place outdoors (Delaroche’s darkly lit picture appears to place events indoors). However, this dramatic painting amazed viewers in Paris when it was unveiled for the first time, striking a chord in a country that itself had suffered from years of political instability and state-sponsored executions.”

I think personally this book was too dark for me which is probably why history isn’t my go-to. Some of the information about little details of the paintings I found interesting. Especially when historical accuracies and inaccuracies were pointed out within them. It was nice being able to go back and forth from the text to the images to see what they were talking about. However, sometimes art that was referenced to wasn’t featured in the book, and that either left me confused or disappointed that I was missing something. Maybe my copy was just missing some images. I did receive an advance copy so some errors are to be expected.

“some weeping, crying, howling, wringing of their hands, others halfe dead … passionately betraying so great a losse with rivers, nay with an ocean of teares.”

I enjoyed looking at the artwork and getting an understanding of what it was portraying. Some of the paintings had a context I never would have guessed. Sadly the paintings of children almost always had tragic tales attached. Overall, I think this book was well researched and had a lot of insight into historical events. Although, I felt like some details were left out and others seemed too theatrical. Sometimes it would say someone died and then go off topic and finally circle back around to say how they died. I didn’t particularly care for that style but I can see how some would enjoy it. I would recommend this book to people who like reading about British history and art history, but note it isn’t heavy with background on most of the artists.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I would like to thank Netgalley, Museyon Publishers, and Stephen Millar for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book.

Lust, Lies, and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits is a culmination of Stephen Millar’s passion for art, it’s history, how vast knowledge on the subject, and his desire to share is passion with others.

The book opens with a wonderful introduction as to the importance of art in Medieval and the Early Modern Eras; how it served to show the majesty of monarchy to the people, in a time when newspapers, radio, television, and the internet weren’t available. It also gave a brief overview of how the role and depiction of art would change over the course of centuries.

Beginning with the Princes in the Tower and taking us through each dynasty of English/British royalty to the current Queen Elizabeth II, Millar recounts in great detail the events behind these beautiful masterpieces, why they were commissioned, and what purpose they served for the Monarchy.

Following this portion of the book, Millar guides us as we stroll down the streets of London with very detailed walking tours, and educates us on the location where the art was produced, and it’s current location. To make it even easier for the art historian adventurer who wishes to seek out fine pieces he is created a chart listing the work, museum of its current location, and city where you can find the museum.

Millar also provides us with dynastic family trees, a timeline of historical events, and the homepages of the museums and collections that house the art included in this book.

This is a wonderfully and well-researched book, perfect for those interested in learning more about art as propaganda for the monarchy of England/Britain. I did give only 4 of 5 stars because I wish there had been more art included and a more in-depth dissection of each work, as well as how each was received by the public. I also noted that at times the author would make a statement, without citing his source or including that at this point that it was a theory amongst historians and not fact.

[Kitty Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lust, Lies, and Monarchy by Stephen Millar
Genre: Art & Photography, Biographies & Memoirs
Publisher: Independent Publishers Group, Museyon
Publish Date: 1 June 2019
Star Rating: 4 Stars

I love books like these! An examination behind famous paintings, learning the stories behind them, the messages the artists wanted to portray as well as those secreted away. I love this because I’m no art connoisseur. I look at a painting and I like it or not but I don’t understand it. When someone then takes the time to tell me the story the painting comes to life and I feel stupid for not giving paintings more time and thought. Therefore when I read the description of the book I was intrigued. The book looks at the portraits of the Royal family of Britain. We would be exploring little-known stories of the Tudors like the mysterious Princes in the Tower and even modern day paintings. I was excited. Then to round it off we would also be going on a ‘walking tour’ with maps of Royal London. These two premises for the book seemed like an odd mixture but the eccentricities might work well together. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite marry up and would have done better as two separate books rather than one volume.

I enjoyed the stories and the propaganda the portraits provided. The book was easy reading and I learned a lot from it. My only quibble is that the author doesn’t do a deep dive of the paintings (more about the surrounding context), they are mentioned briefly and perhaps rely more on gossip.

I would recommend this as a traveling book or when your commuting. It's an interesting and easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Kat Caric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Painting was the social media campaign of the past, and here is the book to read for the gossip section!

True, subjects in centuries past did not get close-up audience with their kings and queens, and may have never seen the in the flesh! So paintings and copies of those images were the campaigns made to help rule kingdoms, a vital part of management of image, of easing political unrest, of conveying feelings of strength and pride in a people's ruler and kingdom, whether painting a sitting current ruler or depicting some event in the past to sway emotion of a people, to remember the story the ruling minds sought to be remembered.

Here is a book that takes the reader through sixteen time periods, and dives into the murky waters recorded in painting, why those paintings were painted the way they were painted. (And you thought artists were free to paint imagery the way they wanted? Nay, off with your head!)

In this volume, we begin with "The Murder of the Sons of Edward IV 1835, Theodor Hildebrandt, oil on canvas" depicting the summer of 1483 in this painting. The shocking story is detailed, the reason this painting takes subject matter of murder of young princes, and one cannot look at this painting the same way ever again.

In fact, knowing the backstory to any one painting in the volume of many paintings, the emotion one feels at seeing the painting cannot be understated!

This is not a book of art technique, of studying a painting to see object and angle chosen, paint medium and substrate chosen, lighting rendered, the beauty we notice in museum setting. Instead this is a book of the intense emotion and framing desired that went into political campaigns, to show history in the light desired, to pull sympathies this way and that, even when painting long ago events.

This is the why of the painting. And it is calculated. And it is intensely fascinating!

There are sixteen chapters highlighting a feature sixteen main paintings, but there are far far more than sixteen paintings in this book. The chapters bring together related paintings so that the cohesive story or campaign can be seen in new light, many paintings per chapter.

This is essential art history reading, and it is quite the ride!

From Lady Jane Grey on the cover, looking mature but truthfully all of sixteen short years old, briefly queen and facing execution before true adulthood, to the death of royal children in painted form, to illustrated detailed family trees, to lives in high times and lives ending from lust and lies and political maneuverings, this is quite an eye-opening read.

5 stars for a shocking and highly interesting art history read. Pull up a drink and enjoy from your safe seat far away from the guillotine.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Independent Publishers Group Museyon for a digital edition for review. I look forward to buying the hard copy.

[Tim Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated narrative of the importance of artwork to the British monarchy over the centuries as a propaganda tool. It is as much about the portraitist as the sitter; what we see in the portrait is the output of a relationship between artist and subject. Millar brilliantly takes us into that dynamic.
It looks at art in a way that sheds light on some lesser known stories and dramatic episodes that relate to the royal family and some hangers-on. A sub-theme is how artistic tastes, and Britain itself, have changed over many centuries.
I didn’t know that probably the first photograph of British royalty was taken in New York. As ever, the family was quick to seize on the power of the new medium by easily reproducing and mass-circulating copies.
The indexing and the guided tours of London is comprehensive, helping the reader to relate directly to what might otherwise be an abstract history. An excellent book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I truly enjoyed this book, and while I thought it could have had slightly more meat on its bones, it is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the English/British royal family. There is some fantastic royal portraits and scenes in art from several centuries, and Millar does a wonderful job of discussing paintings in relation to specific events and episodes in history. It works especially well with the walking tours and maps of London that he includes, in case of anyone wanting to go and discover many of these pieces in person.
My only slight criticism is that oftentimes the painting included was from the nineteenth century, when we saw a proliferation of historical subjects in artwork. The fact that it was from centuries later isn't always addressed. (I suspect that might have to do with licensing and what could be included.)

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book purports to be an examination of the (mostly) British Royal Fsmily through portraiture from the Tudors to present day. The first chapter on Henry VII and the explorer Henry Cabot was a promising one until the reader sees there is no actual contemporary artists that portrayed either King or explorer. There are basic errors in the Tudor chapters that an editor could have fixed. As a reader who knows the Tudor era well, if there are errors there it puts the history into question for the entire book. There are no deep analysis into any of the artists and the brief history is rife with gossip. The end of the book includes some historical walks in London which are interesting….but, the author makes basic errors when discussing Tudor executions claiming that Queen Katherine Howard and Jane, Viscountess Rockford were executed on Tower Hill when they were granted the privacy of Tower Green. Overall a disappointment

[Anne Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting behind-the-scenes explanations of royal paintings, insight into imagery used in portraits, maybe even a look at how royalty has used their image over the centuries to control how their subjects thought of them- and how that might or might not have changed with the coming of newsprint. Instead, "Lust, Lies and Monarchy" is more a Cliff Notes version of the history of English royalty. Beautiful paintings illustrate it, and occasionally we learn something about the artist or how the sittings might have gone, but the art itself never seemed like the focus of the book the way I expected from the blurb. Overall, this is a book for those looking for a brief glimpse into British history, and the royal families, but not much else.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Moniek Bloks · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not often that the title of a book grabs my attention like this and I watched as it was endlessly postponed before finally being released in June. 

Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits discusses several royal paintings and portraits and the history behind them. However, the actual paintings are discussed rather briefly, and while the history around the paintings is discussed, the author sometimes relies on the rumour mill narrative and does not delve deeper into discussions such as about the Princes in the Tower. It all rather remains on the surface, which makes the inclusion of walking tours at the back of the book even stranger. I would have devoted this space to delve just a little bit deeper. 

Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I just wish there had been more.

[Judithajdu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read that made my knowledge of British Royal history live. I especially liked that controversial accounts of some events were left side by side. It was clearly not the aim of the book to decide academic debates, rather to show the multistoried nature of history. Seeing history through the paintings of the monarchy is certainly a great way of enhancing history with visuals. I thoroughly enjoyed to see what I read about and have the opportunity to examine the paintings at my own pace. The stories behind the creation of the paintings were fascinating. While the London walks might seem like a separate book I was happy to have a two in one and can’t wait to walk along the routes, my understanding of the Monarchy tweaked by great behind the scenes stories.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that is a mix of written history along with beautiful art (paintings, statues, photographs) chronicling British history from The Princes In the Tower all the way to modern day Windsors and Queen Elizabeth II. It also includes a detailed walking tour of London and description of where all the featured art pieces are located. Part art book, part travel guide all in one!

Thank you to Independent Publishers Group for providing an advanced e-copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is so beautiful I definitely want to buy a hard copy to have all the wonderful pictures.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting book and of rather good value because you get several books in one volume. You get a gossip book the relates all the best scandals of each royal age from the Plantagenets and the Tudors, I mean who really did kill the poor little princes in the tower, to Queen Elizabeth II. I have to say, there are a lot of scandals and sadly dead royal children in this book. The death of one royal prince, Henry of the Stuart line, really did change history by ushering his brother Charles I who was executed by Oliver Cromwell. Lucky for us the information did not last long and Charles II the "Merry Monarch" brought fun times back to England. The book goes along in this vein all the way to Elizabeth II and poor Princess Margaret and her unfortunate live affairs. Where would the newspaper rags be without them?
Along with the gossip the book showcases paintings of royalty and the self-portraits of the artists themselves. This is what drew me to the book. I loved the full-color photos of the paintings and the history of the paintings. I wish there had been more, much more. The paintings are a good selection and the author should write another book and focus more on the paintings and less on the gossip though the gossip is delicious. I spent a lot of time looking at the paintings and what I really enjoyed was at the back of the book the author included a list of what museum, palace, etc. Each painting could be found. Brilliant and endlessly fascinating. Also, at the end of this book, is a walking tour of London which was fun to read. There is also a bibliography at the end of this book to read more about the subjects in this book. So you see, you get three books in one. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain’s Royal Portraits
by Stephen Millar
A historical look at the English Monarchy through the glass of the paintings that they created to established their legacy. Some of the art is controversial, some flattering some critical of the men and women connected with the monarchy. Some of the kings used art to depict their ideals. Some of the art work is critic of the behavior and the royal behavior. It was relative not only to the artist, but to the ideal of the monarchy.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, but I rounded up. Overall, not a bad idea for a book, but other than the portrait of Elizabeth I and the study of Charles I by van Dyke for the Bernini bust, it was very thin. As other reviewers remarked, the walking tour section at the end was out of place and felt like filler. Also, the author misused the word "descendant" twice in the text when he meant to use "ancestor ", which is very annoying.

[Camilla Negri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated reading about British history (and gossip) through paintings, drawings and sculptures. While most of the history recounted is well known, there are a few hidden gems with l’essere known facts. Also I really appreciated the “bonus” chapter with London walks designed to appreciate royal history, I cannot wait to go to have a look myself!

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quickest art history book I've ever read. It's less about the art and more about the crazy, gossipy royal family shenanigans throughout history. All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable book.

[GuyGrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good example of what Museyon excels at: a combination of travel guide and historical survey that can be read while on the road. Would be ideal as a companion to a trip, especially to London. In terms of focus, it leans heavier on the the biographical details of the subjects of the paintings than of the artists who painted them, though some sections (like that on Lucien Freud) correct this. The book is not quite an art history primer, not fully a travel book (though there are walking tours), and certainly not a work of academic history. Overall, a pleasant way to jog through monarchical history and a good reminder of some lesser known pictures that deserve sustained attention.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a nice look at one painting giving a look at those in the image. Along with a few other images you get a look at the person in visual and written form. You get images from the past few hundred years of rule up to Diana and Elizabeth.