I have been thrilled with this National Portrait Gallery catalogue of its 'The Lost Prince' exhibit. Catharine MacLeod (curator) did a beautiful job pulling this collection together, and while I would have loved to have seen it in person, in ways it's even better to have it to keep as a reference. I meant to read straight through, as there are some interesting prefaces and introductions, but I've been bouncing about. The portraits reference one another, immersing and connecting the reader to the whole book, right off. It is far and away my favorite art exhibit book (at least for the present). I do take exception, just a bit, with the name of the exhibit, as for some reason it makes me think of the Princes in the Tower (Edward IV's sons), and I'm not sure I've ever heard Prince Henry, son of King James VI/I, called that before. But it's catchy, I suppose. So many beautiful portraits and insights about the royal family members and key political players... Mind you, however, that this particular cover portrait is deceptively flattering!
To orient you with regards to my work, this Prince Henry (1594-1612) was the brother of Elizabeth Stuart, later Queen of Bohemia. Elizabeth Stuart was the mother of Sophia of Hanover, who was the mother of King George I of Great Britain. So this 'lost prince' was King George I's great-uncle. I'm working on a novel about King George I's wife, Sophia Dorothea.
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