15. King James I, Whitehall Palace, Whitehall

The Banqueting House, as seen through the window of this print, is one of the last surviving parts of the original great palace of Whitehall, most of which was lost to fire in 1698. This spectacular hall, commissioned by King James I and his wife, Anne of Denmark, was completed in 1622 by Inigo Jones and was the site of many masquerade balls hosted by the royal couple.

Although married and a father to five children (including the future King Charles I who was to be  beheaded at Banqueting House in 1649), King James is described by historian Michael B. Young as “the most prominent homosexual figure in the early modern period.” 

Although he took numerous male lovers throughout his life, the most famous was George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Much of the evidence of their intimate relationship can be found in their sometimes ambiguous correspondence. Buckingham once wrote to the king; "whether you loved me now… better than at the time which I shall never forget at Farnham, where the bed's head could not be found between the master and his dog". 

In 2004 during renovations to Apethorpe palace, Northamptonshire, a secret passageway connecting the king's bedchamber to Villiers’ was discovered.

Print is 20 x 25cm, unframed, signed, numbered and comes with the above accompanying text.