4 months ago
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Kensington Palace has announced an upcoming exhibition designed to reveal the untold lives of staff who worked in the royal palaces more than 300 years ago.
The London-based exhibition will uncover the 'forgotten stories' of those frequently denied recognition, despite working tirelessly for the royal family.
Open from March 14, Untold Lives: A Palace at Work will tribute contributions from a wide range of people in relation to sexual orientation, gender, and ethnic background.
For the first time, the spotlight will also shine on a diverse range of roles that were at the centre of royal life, including female rat killers, a job that complete with a rat-embroidered uniform, to the 'Groom of the Stool', who was responsible for looking after the monarch on the toilet.
'Untold Lives: A Palace at Work will shine a spotlight on the overlooked people from all walks of life who worked tirelessly — often behind-the-scenes — to maintain, protect and promote the monarch and the royal palaces,' reads Historic Royal Palaces page.
Untold Lives: A Palace at Work exhibition at Kensington Palace is set to tribute the work of Black and Asian staff who previously worked at the palaces. Above: Painting on display at the stone staircase in Kensington Palace
'Now, for the first time, the lives and contribution of these forgotten figures will be explored in a new exhibition, created by the independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces,' the website reads.
One such 'forgotten' role is the 'Keeper of Ice and Snow' - a physically tiring job of cutting ice so royals could enjoy cold beverages, iced deserts, and drinks throughout the year.
In particular, the work of Frances Talbot will be explored – a woman responsible for managing the royal icehouse at Hampton Court Palace in the 1770s.
Her contribution to the palace and its guests will be remembered with the first display of an ice saw.
Visitors will also be enlightened on the invaluable contribution of workers from around the world.
The contribution of Black and Asian royal servants who arrived at the palaces for reasons including colonisation and religious wars, will also be explored using portraits and historical objects.
For instance, portraits of Abdullah, a wild cat keeper from India, and Mehmet von Könsigstreu, Keeper of the Privy Purse for King George I, will be on display.
Mehmet, who was of Turkish heritage, and his wife Marie Hedwig are thought to be one of the first interracial married couples at the Hanoverian Court.
A portrait of von Könsigstreu, Keeper of the Privy Purse for King George I, will feature in the exhibition
A portrait of Turkish valet, Ernst August Mustapha von Misitri, (more commonly known as Mustapha) that hangs on the King's staircase
Mehmet, a valued servant of King Goerge I, was an influential figure with personal access to the monarch.
While his portrait is featured on the King’s staircase, Untold Lives will further illuminate his contribution.
Turkish valet, Ernst August Mustapha von Misitri, more commonly known as Mustapha, in a portrait by Godfrey Kneller – on loan from the Ömer Koç Collection will also be exhibited for the first time in the UK.
It comes after documents from the National Archives revealed advisers banned 'coloured immigrants or foreigners' from working as anything other than domestic servants in the royal household as recently as the late 1960s.
The bombshell papers uncovered by the Guardian also showed how Buckingham Palace negotiated controversial clauses exempting the Queen and her household from laws that prevent race and sex discrimination.
These exemptions were brought into force in the mid-1970s, when the Labour government implemented sweeping racial and sexual equality laws to stamp out discrimination in post-imperial Britain.
In the late 1960s, the Labour government sought to eradicate racism by expanding the racial discrimination laws, which only banned racism in public places, so that they also banned discrimination in employment or services such as housing.
But the Queen and her household were excluded from those laws, which has made it impossible for women and ethnic minorities working for Buckingham Palace to complain to the courts if they believe they have been discriminated against.
Any complaints would have been referred to the Home Secretary instead of the courts. It is understood these clauses remain in place to this day.
