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ATTRIBUTED TO CHARLES I, KING OF GREAT BRITAIN (1600-49)

Eikon Basilike: the portraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his solitudes and sufferings

1649

RCIN 1080417

The Eikon Basilike (Royal Portrait) contains accounts of various events and hardships encountered by Charles I in the years preceding his defeat and was probably, at least in part, written by the king himself. The book was first published ten days after the monarch’s execution in 1649 and quickly became one of the biggest-sellng books of the seventeenth century. Four lengths of blue silk ribbon are attached to the binding and an inscription inside the book describes these as having formed Charles I’s garter ribbon, seen in the portrait nearby. Recent radiocarbon dating indicates that the ribbon is likely to date from between 1631 and 1670.

    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.