The royal image and the English people

For the English people, the image of the monarchy is deeply bound up with the idea of nationhood.

This book surveys aspects of England's royal heritage dialogue from the late middle ages to the 19th century, by looking at the representation of the monarchy in a variety of public monuments, both surviving and lost.

Geographically, this study is confined to England. It concentrates on monumental sculpted portraits because that was the way in which the image of the monarchy was customarily presented in the most immediate and permanent form at large scale in the public arena.

The creation of and reaction to royal statues and memorials in public places is only one indication as to the mood of the time, but it can be a telling sign.

The aim of such memorials was to consolidate and commemorate shared loyalties and beliefs, focusing on the monarchs.

Made of durable materials, they were supposed to last, and their history did not end with the inauguration ceremony.

They were sometimes protected by railings, more often than just by their talismanic value.

However, in an ever-changing political climate, the railings were not always enough. Image-smashing was a feature of the political upheavals of the reformation, the Commonwealth and the Glorious Revolution, though monuments were not always destroyed without protest.

For some, the idea of Englishness depends upon monarchy.

There was widespread resistance to the idea that Oliver Cromwell should be commemorated by public memorial.

The English generally remained uncomfortable with the idea of republicanism.

The monarchial government of the middle ages, thought to be sanctioned by God, was very different from the figurehead the monarchy has become.

The monuments discussed have all been subject to reinterpretation in light of changed circumstances, and in some cases their original significance has become obscured.