Book Review: On Display: Henrietta Maria and the Materials of Magnificence at the Stuart Court (The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art) by Erin Griffey.

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Queen Henrietta Maria is often remembered as the French Catholic queen whose religious beliefs and political influence made her unpopular with many of her English subjects. This book looks beyond the familiar accounts and explores the the objects, clothes and surroundings that shaped her life at court.

Erin Griffey's central argument is that magnificence was about much more than wealth or personal vanity. In the seventeenth century, clothing, jewellery, paintings, furnishings and architecture communicated status and authority. Henrietta Maria understood this instinctively. She brought the traditions and tastes of the French court to England and used her patronage to establish a distinctive identity within the Stuart monarchy.

I particularly like the way Erin Griffey looks beyond familiar portraits by Anthony van Dyck to explore the material world behind them. Household accounts and inventories reveal the richness of the queen's clothing and possessions, offering details paintings cant convey. It is a reminder that royal portraits were carefully constructed representations, not straightforward records of everyday appearance.

The chapters exploring Somerset House were especially interesting. The palace was more than a royal residence; it was a reflection of Henrietta Maria's taste, ambitions and determination to establish a court of her own. Erin Griffey shows how interiors, furnishings and the work of artists and craftsmen contributed to the presentation of royal authority. 

For me, one of the more poignant aspects of the book is the contrast between the magnificence of her early years in England and the hardships that followed the Civil Wars and Charles I's execution. Henrietta Maria lost the world she had helped create, yet her determination to preserve her dignity and influence endured through years of exile. Her later involvement with Somerset House after the Restoration adds a particularly interesting final chapter to that story.

This is an academic study, and the detailed examination of inventories and individual objects occasionally makes for demanding reading. However, the wealth of documentary evidence and the illustrations make this a valuable resource for anyone wanting to understand the queen more fully.

I recommend ^ to readers interested in Henrietta Maria, Charles I and the Stuart court. It offers a fresh perspective on a remarkable woman and has certainly deepened my appreciation of how she used art, architecture and material possessions to express her identity and maintain her position. For anyone writing about this period, there is much here to discover.

Tony Riches

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About the Author

Professor Erin Griffey is an art historian and Head of Art History at the University of Auckland. Her work on Queen Henrietta Maria has been instrumental in shaping the field by contributing new knowledge of her strategic engagement with and patronage of visual and material culture for political, social, religious, and dynastic ends. Aspects of adornment – including dress, jewelry and cosmetics – have been central to this discussion. Follow Erin on Bluesky @eringriffey.bsky.social