A keen naturalist, the Earl of Bute was an important influence in the early life of George III. A close acquaintance of his parents Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta, Princess of Wales, Bute assisted the latter in establishing the Royal Botanic Gardens in the grounds of Kew Palace and served as tutor to the young George until his accession to the throne in 1760. Bute was deeply involved with the running of Kew, and, in 1759, appointed William Aiton to catalogue the plants there (Hortus Kewensis, 1769, RCIN 1090483).

Aiton was assisted by another botanist, John Hill, with whom Bute worked on a monumental 26-volume catalogue of various flora, The Vegetable System (1759–75, RCINs 1050557–74). The publication was primarily a rejection of the new system proposed by Linnaeus but was of such a scale and expense that its actual influence was limited.

Following Hill’s death in 1775, Bute worked on another method to classify plants. This resulted in his Botanical Tables, privately printed c.1785. Amounting to nine royal quarto volumes, this beautifully-produced work contained over 400 hand-coloured plates and is exceedingly rare. Bute printed only 16 copies of the work, apparently with the intention of presenting it to important women: botany, along with conchology (the study of shells), being viewed as the most appropriate natural history endeavours for women at the time.

The Royal Library’s set was presented by Bute to Queen Charlotte and is still stored in the satinwood box, decorated with flowers and bearing the Queen’s cypher, that was specially made for it.