Cromwell and Hesilrig display @ NPG

The display at the National Portrait Gallery.

If you're in London over the next year a couple of small 17th century displays at the National Portrait Gallery are worth catching.

One explores the relationship between art and power during the period, while the other reveals an intriguing discovery about the collection's portrait of Sir Arthur Hesilrig ...

Half-way house: the Stuarts at Titchfield

The ruins of Place House/Titchfield Abbey. The mansion would have evoked difficult memories for both Charles I and his eldest two sons.

Titchfield Abbey (or Place House) in Hampshire is perhaps best known for its Shakespeare associations: its owner, the Third Earl of Southampton, was the playwright's patron (and, many assume, the 'Fair Youth' to whom the majority of his sonnets are addressed), and some of the bard's plays are believed to have been performed there for the first time.

Less well-known, but no less dramatic, however, is Titchfield's association with the Stuarts ...

Henry Stuart, Prince of Wales exhibition @ National Portrait Gallery

The Lost Prince: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart at the National Portrait Gallery.

Charles I was never meant be king. His elder brother Henry was intended to succeed his father as Henry IX, but died tragically at the age of only 18. Henry had been held in great esteem, and hopes were high. He would reassert England as a significant Protestant power in Europe, become a beacon for the arts and, through the unifying force of his personality, avoid any need for an English Civil War. He was destined to be/do lots of things, counter-factual historians suggest, drawing - in part - on the outpouring of literature lamenting his loss.
How much can truly be interpreted about someone when they die so young? I went along to The Lost Prince: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart at the National Portrait Gallery to find out ...

Chess board, thought to have been owned by Charles I, up for auction

The early-17th century amber games board, attributed to Georg Schreiber.

A 17th century amber games board, believed to have been owned by Charles I, is up for auction tomorrow, with an estimate price of £300,000 - 500,000 ...