Indian 'wild cat keeper' among untold stories of royal staff working behind the scenes at Britain's palaces
London, January 3
The portrait of an Indian “wild cat keeper” named Abdullah is among a series of untold stories of royal staff working behind the scenes at Britain’s palaces dating back to the Raj era that are part of a new exhibition which opens in London in March.
‘Untold Lives: A Palace at Work’ will open at Kensington Palace to spotlight the servants and courtiers who ran royal palaces for centuries. Abdullah, apparently hired to care for royal tigers, is part of a range of portraits and objects that explore the presence of black and South Asian royal servants and attendants at court in the 18th century.
“For centuries the palaces have been kept running by a host of people working behind the scenes. While their work has been crucial, their stories remain largely untold, and through our new exhibition we hope to shine a spotlight on some of these fascinating individuals from across the past,” said Sebastian Edwards, co-exhibition curator at Historic Royal Palaces.
“In recognising the contribution they made, we hope that all our visitors find new connections with the Palace and their stories, celebrating the lasting legacy which their roles have contributed to these amazing historic places,” he said.
From butlers to cooks, from wet nurses to seamstresses, a host of workers managed life at court and used their skills and expertise to look after the royal family and their homes. The exhibition also attempts to highlight the unexpected origins and identities of some of these people, which have been uncovered by its curators during their research. In an age of great change in the form of colonial expansion, religious wars and a fledgling constitutional monarchy, new figures arrived at court from all over the world.
Among the portraits is also a Turkish valet, Ernst August Mustapha von Misitri – more commonly known as Mustapha – in a portrait by Godfrey Kneller and never exhibited before in the UK.
“The exhibition will reveal the breadth and diversity of the roles required to keep the palaces running. From the rat-killer, complete with his (or even her) own rat-embroidered uniform, to the ‘Groom of the Stool’, who was responsible for looking after the monarch on the toilet, the court was full of varied roles,” said Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that cares for Britain’s palaces.
One such role was the ‘Keeper of Ice and Snow’, and one of its occupiers was a woman named Frances Talbot, whose story will be revealed for the first time. Talbot managed the royal icehouse at Hampton Court Palace in the 1770s, performing a physically demanding job, cutting ice so that palace guests could enjoy cold beverages, iced desserts and drinks all year round.
The vital security role palace workers performed will also be explored, with servants and staff having saved Kensington Palace from fire on three separate occasions. Seemingly ordinary items including a fire bucket and an oil lantern will be on display, telling dramatic stories of salvage, and highlighting the people power that ensured the palace’s safety and survival.
