Tag: history

Whilst visiting Kirby Misperton in Yorkshire I was surprised and delighted to discover a picture depicting Frederick Blomberg who is a key character in my historical novel, Prince George & Master Frederick. My book is fiction but it is based on the story of real people and the relationship between two half-brothers – Prince George, the future regent and monarch and Frederick Blomberg who, as an infant, was adopted by King George III and Queen Charlotte and brought up as a prince.

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Having published my debut novel, Prince George & Master Frederick on 30th January with Alliance Publishing Press this year I’ve enjoyed a whirlwind of radio interviews, features in papers and magazines and history blogs. But, best of all, I’ve been invited to give talks to interested audiences. Possibly the most interested audience I could hope for, gathered in St Laurence’s Church in the village of Kirby Misperton, north Yorkshire on 16th May to hear my talk about the book.

Kirby Misperton is a particularly important location for me, personally, and in relation to the book. My grandmother, Verna Twentyman, grew up in the Hall at Kirby Misperton. As a child I listened to her story about our family’s supposed royal connection. She told me: “King George III loved the countryside, and when he was a young man he came upon a farm in Kent, fell in love with a beautiful farmer’s daughter and there was a baby. To prevent a scandal for the young monarch, the king’s best friend and equerry, Major William Blomberg, married the mother and gave the baby a name.”

It was a very slender story but enough to pique my interest and it stayed with me long after she had died. I was about to tell my own grandchildren her story when I paused and decided to research her claim. Well, it turns out it was all true. The ‘accidental’ child of King George III was indeed called Frederick Blomberg. His mother died and his father was killed in action. When word of his orphaned state reached King George III and Queen Charlotte they decided to adopt Frederick. They already had two small sons and a third on the way. So, from the age of four Frederick was brought up within the royal household at Richmond Lodge and became best friends with his half-brother, Prince George, the future regent and King George IV.

I was so intrigued by the story that I felt compelled to write this novel: Prince George & Master Frederick

I was thrilled when the local paper, the Malton Gazette and Herald, gave it a front cover mention and double page spread in anticipation of my visit.

There was a great turnout for the talk on 16th May but, for me, the most exciting part of the evening was being shown a picture of Frederick Blomberg as an adult. Apparently this image had been hanging on the vestry wall for years and no body knew who it was or had taken it down to examine the back. On the reverse of the rather witty depiction of an academic in gown and mortarboard was an account of Frederick Blomberg’s life and a copy of his signature.

It’s quite a caricature image of the illustrious clergyman who had lived at Kirby Misperton. All through his youth Frederick had hoped to inherit this estate in Yorkshire but proving his claim was very hard for him.

As he grew up, it became clear that Frederick needed a profession. So King George III sent him to Cambridge University to study Divinity, he was ordained and became a clergyman. The king then granted him several lucrative livings (parishes where he could gain an income and have a rectory or vicarage to live in). However, he had to wait until his half-brother, Prince George, became Prince Regent in 1810 and was able to finally grant him the Kirby Misperton estate. So, in 1811, Frederick Blomberg became the owner of the estate and was known as Baron Blomberg. He also took services in St Laurence’s Church and became quite the local celebrity. He built an obelisk in the grounds with a plaque which says ‘Thank you’ to King George III and Prince George, the Prince Regent, for granting him this land, ‘long estranged’.

While researching the book I had seen images of Frederick as a child, but never as an adult. Imagine my excitement at finally seeing a sketch of him, albeit dressed in academic robes rather than depicted as a clergyman.

You can read more about Prince George & Master Frederick in my novel. It’s available in print form, via Amazon, on Kindle and on Audible. Or you can order it through your local bookshop. Please do let me know if you enjoy reading my book. Or order a signed copy directly from my author website And if, you are interested in inviting me to give a talk about my book please do get in touch. May 2025

Secrets of the Thames. What a treat to visit the London Museum Docklands, to see their new exhibition which celebrates the determined curiosity of generations of mudlarkers. Swishing around the river’s foreshore at low tide is clearly an addictive activity and the results are wonderful.

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The exhibition opens with this spectacular painting by Henry Pether (around 1850) featuring mudlarkers searching the foreshore near York Water Gate, the Strand, by moonlight. Anyone living near the river will be aware of the constant rise and fall of the tide which is ordained by the moon. And there’s a fabulous sculpture of The Moon which you can circle, and peer at the extraordinary pitted surface.

You need a licence to be a mudlarker, along with sturdy shoes, waterproof clothes and a beady eye to spot potential treasure with in the mud of the river. It’s astonishing that every low tide will reveal items dropped, lost or hidden in the Thames. These pieces vary from the really ancient, pre-historic tools and items, jewels and coins, up to contemporary objects thought lost for ever.

Above is a selection of figurines showing different gods and godesses from Roman times. They might have been offerings – the Romans revered water – or accidentally dropped into the river. And on the right is The Waterloo Helmet from 150 BCE. It’s the only Iron Age helmet found in southern England and the only one with horns ever found in Europe.

I do love seeing the everyday items which have been fished out. This wooden tankard must have been a thrilling find. It holds three pints – great for a very thirsty person, most likely a sailor. And it’s great to see these Delftware pots and dishes, even in fragments, giving you an idea of the household crockery in use from the mid 1500s to the 1800s.

There’s something very touching about seeing children’s shoes. They have survived the centuries because the mud of the Thames is ‘anaerobic’ meaning it preserves the material from oxygen and it does not decay.

Mudlarking has been going on for centuries. For many early mudlarkers it was the coal and wood which they wanted, rather than the ‘treasure’.

The layout of the exhibition is fascinating. A very eye-catching recreation of the Thames foreshore has been recreated throughout, giving viewers an idea of how complicated it can be to sift through the detritus of the river and use just your eyes and experience to spot and uncover something exciting.

It’s a very stimulating and moving show. And impressive that so many of the items were discovered by dedicated mudlarkers and donated to the Museum of London so that they can be viewed and admired but visitors.

The exhibition at the London Museum Docklands is on until 1st March 2026. Well worth adding to your ‘must-see’ list!

Prince George & Master Frederick has been published! Yes, my historical fiction novel was launched in style with an event at St Giles’ Church, Cripplegate. A huge crowd braved a chill January evening and gathered to buy signed copies and listen to speeches about the book

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I’ve always loved book launches but this one was the best ever! It’s an amazing feeling to publish your debut novel. But quite daunting to stand up in front of a large audience and explain how researching a family story turned out to be so fascinating that I simply had to write the story of Frederick Blomberg, the secret son of King George III. Having been introduced to the gathered crowds by my publisher, Janet Weitz of Alliance Publishing Press, I stood up and gave a speech.

In this picture I’m standing in front of a print of a portrait of Master Frederick Blomberg, painted by court artist Richard Brompton in about 1770. The painting was commissioned by Queen Charlotte and it’s a companion piece to two other portraits of her royal sons: Prince George, Prince of Wales and Prince Frederick, Duke of York which now hang in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace. I was delighted to put this painting of Prince George in Garter robes next to his ‘adopted’ brother, Frederick Blomberg on the front cover of my book.

And what fun it was to welcome so many lovely friends to the book launch, sign books and chat. And for all those who could not be there, you can order a signed copy through my author website: http://www.rosalind-freeborn.com Otherwise, you can buy a copy through Amazon, (on Kindle, print or Audible) and through bookshops.

In my talk I showed a display of portraits commissioned by Queen Charlotte in 1769 of her family, drawn as a set by the artist Hugh Douglas Hamilton. The portrait of Frederick was probably given to Frederick Blomberg by Prince George and ended up at his home in Yorkshire, Kirby Misperton. After Blomberg died in 1847 the little portrait remained on the wall, through two subsequent owners, until my great-grandfather bought the estate and my grandmother grew up there. She used to look at the picture of Frederick on the wall of her home and told me that the boy was the son of King George III (wrong side of the blanket, as she put it). That piqued my interest but I did nothing about it for decades. Then, about five years ago, I thought I’d investigate this claim and find out more about Blomberg. Well, what I discovered was so fascinating that I was compelled to write this novel.

I’ve been so delighted with the quantity of publicity this book has attracted. Above is a feature which appeared in the Yorkshire Post. I’ve done radio and television interviews too. Yes, I feel very published!

Prince George & Master Frederick is my debut novel. It’s a work of historical fiction but is based on the true story of Frederick Blomberg, the little orphan boy who was adopted by King George III and Queen Charlotte in 1765 and brought up like a prince within the royal household. Was he really the King’s secret son?

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Prince George & Master Frederick (by Rosalind Freeborn) will be published by Alliance Publishing Press on 30th January 2025. It will be available on Amazon and through bookshops. You can also buy it directly from me on my author website. The cost is £15 per copy (plus £5.00 postage in the UK) and I’ll send you a signed copy.

Prince George & Master Frederick by Rosalind Freeborn, book jacket, portraits of Prince George - future regent and King George IV - and Frederick Blomberg, adopted son of King George III. The paintings are by Richard Brompton and commissioned by Queen Charlotte.

In 1765, Frederick Blomberg a four-year-old orphan, is bundled into a carriage with a woman he does not know and taken to the royal palace at Richmond to be a playmate for the three-year-old Prince George. But why have King George III and Queen Charlotte adopted this child and what is his secret connection to the king?

I was prompted to write this book after investigating a family story suggesting that there was a connection (on my mother’s side) with King George III. Researching this story opened up the most fascinating life-story of Frederick Blomberg. He’s a character who is occasionally referenced in history books and royal biographies but his story has never been told before. Yet, when you look at the portrait by court artist, Richard Brompton, which was commissioned by Queen Charlotte, it’s clear that he was an important child in the household.

Prince George & Master Frederick is a work of fiction but it is based on real events, charting the lives of real people with just a few characters added for dramatic impact.

Prince George & Master Frederick by Rosalind Freeborn, historical novel about the secret son of King George III. Published by Alliance Publishing Press on 30th January 2025.

The two portraits which appear on the book jacket are by Richard Brompton. They feature the same plinth as prop and both boys are wearing the same pom-pom shoes. The portrait of Prince George, wearing garter robes, features Windsor Castle in the background (the painting now hangs in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace). Frederick Blomberg, in a fabulous rust-coloured suit, with greyhound, features Buckingham House in the background. Buckingham House was later remodelled and became Buckingham Palace.

Portrait of George, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King George III. He is wearing garter robes. The portrait was painted by court artist Richard Brompton is about 1770. Windsor Castle features in the background
Portrait of Frederick Blomberg painted by court artist Richard Brompton in about 1770. Frederick wears a fabulous rust-coloured outfit and is with a greyhound. In the background the building is Buckingham House before it was remodelled and turned into a palace.

It’s very exciting to have some advance copies of the book. I look forward to the moment it is published on 30th January 2025.

Photo of Rosalind Freeborn, author of Prince George & Master Frederick with a copy of her historical novel due to be published on 30th January 2025.

The V&A has just launched a fabulour exhbition celebrating the ‘Golden Age’ of the Mughal court 1560-1660. What a rich and creative time that was, embracing art forms which celebrated a huge and cultural geographic area covering a vast swathe of central Asia. A vast array of objects on show, from woven and printed fabrics, drawings and paintings on paper, books, weapons, clothing and vessels.

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Before visiting this exhibition I had no idea that the Mughal dynasty was founded by a Central Asian ruler, Babur, in 1526 and lasted a hundred years. And in that time there was a spectacular flowering of artistry and creative excellence. The Mughal empire spanned India, Iran (Persia), Afghanistan, Gudjerat and Bangladesh. It’s so interesting to see how the art forms from these different countries and cultures merged. We regard them so separately these days but they all combined to create a beautiful Mughal aesthetic.

I did enjoy the narrative quality of the very intricate drawings and paintings. You get a terrific sense of life from these images – crowded with drama and people expressing politics, emotion and events.

Such delicacy to the painting of this goshawk, made about 1650-1700. Falconry was a familiar sport right across Asia. These birds were a luxury item, often given by merchants to the emperor as gifts.

There were many examples of traditional carpet weaving, fabrics and hangings such as this poppy floorspread (celebrating the opium trade), made for a palace.

Very attractive and interesting exhibition which is open at the V&A until 5th May 2025

What an enchanting show! It’s a joy to visit the National Gallery and ‘Discover Constable and the Hay Wain’. This picture has graced millions of biscuit tins and chocolate boxes but there’s so much more to the image. Fascinating to see the painting in the context of a contemporary painter of the 1820s channelling the aesthetic of traditional landscape painting and establishing a British school of landscape. Fabulous

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The Hay Wain is such a familiar image and conjures thoughts of ‘Merrie England’, the countryside fantasy of rural beauty, a simple life and the contented relationship between people who till the earth and the beauty of the fields where they work. At the press preview, listening to curator Christine Riding, it was fascinating to hear the context of the Hay Wain explained and then illustrated by a charming selection of complementary paintings, drawings, sketches and cartoons.

Took a couple of close-ups of the Hay Wain. It’s one of John Constable’s ‘six-footers’, a very large painting which was started in 1819 with the intention of grabbing the attention of collectors and fellow artists. Size does matter when you’re competing with other people to gain a reputation in the art work; this was an epic work, produced in his studio, but very much based on sketches and paintings made ‘en plein air’ in the Suffolk countryside Constable knew so well.

This is a large-scale (6ft) dry run which Constable painted. I love the liveliness and free painting. He does not become bogged down in detail yet all the elements of the composition are there.

On the left is a work by Constable entitled The Wheat Field. It makes rural life look very clean, romantic and relaxed. On the right is Golding Constable’s Kitchen Garden (his father) which was very personal to Constable and he kept it for himself and it was never sold in his lifetime.

This painting is by Thomas Gainsborough (1748) Like Constable, he was born and brought up in Suffolk and was familiar with the same landscape. This work depicts Cornard Wood, common land at the time. The painting belonged to Constable’s uncle, David Pike Watts and would have been familiar to the young artist as he was developing his interest in landscape painting and admiring Gainsborough’s technique.

Always wonderful to see an artist’s sketch book and this shows how Constable studied field-workers and rural activity. On the right is a tiny oil sketch showing the composition of the Hay Wain. We learned that the house on the left, known as Willy Lott’s Cottage was, in fact, owned by Mr William Lott and it was a house, and a substantial dwelling. Perhaps Constable is guilty of loading his seminal work with a dose of sentimentality in order to appeal to the ideal of the rural idyll?

This is very charming set of tiny models depicting the best singers in the East Bergholt church choir. It has been attributed to the young John Constable as creator but we can’t be sure. They are very enchanting, tiny carved and painted wooden figures.

The show is just wonderful. It’s part of the National Gallery’s 200th year celebration and well worth a visit.

It’s taken a couple of centuries but Angelica Kauffman has finally been given a solo show at the Royal Academy in London. She was an inaugural member of this illustrious group which was founded in 1768. She was renowned and admired across Europe as one of the most cultured, talented and influential artists of her generation. It’s wonderful to see so much of her work on these walls.

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In this fabulous self-portrait, Angelica Kauffman represents herself ‘At the Crossroads between the Arts of Music and Painting’. She was a talented singer and musician and torn between the two art forms. But, thank goodness, she decided to dedicate her life to painting. For forty years of her working career (born 1741 and died November 1807) she produced hundreds of remarkable paintings. She was especially enjoyed creating historical, narrative paintings but putting the female character or heroine at the centre of the action. In fact, she was a consummate feminist and celebrated the achievements of women in her work.

Painted by Richard Samuel, here is Angelica, seated in front of the easel, in the company of illustrious women of the day who are all depicted as ‘Characters of the Muses in the Temple of Apollo’. A group portrait of some of the best-known, intellectual and creative women of late 18th century Britain. She is the only artist in the group.

She made several exquisite self-portraits. All of them show her direct, intelligent gaze and are painted with such poise and incorporate classical references in the pose.

According to the curator of the show, Bettina Bamgärtel who spoke at the press preview I attended, Kauffman regarded commissioned portraits as a necessary money-making aspect of her practice, and not her main focus. However, she was extremely good at them. I liked these two portraits. On the left is Joshua Reynolds, who became a close friend. Reynolds introduced her to his royal patron, Queen Charlotte and gave her an entree into London society. On the right is the actor David Garrick. He pose is very unstuffy and shows how very comfortable he felt engaging her gaze and, one imagines, having lively conversations while the painting was being made.

This beautiful portrait of is Emma Hamilton as Muse of Comedy. Emma (who was famously the lover of Lord Nelson) was well known for her ‘attitudes’ – recreating the poses of classical figures as an entertainment. She was invited to country houses and palaces on the promise that she would perform these stylised dances in diaphanous drapes.

This is a portrait of the first Royal Academicians painted by Johan Zoffany gathered in the life drawing room of new Academy. This was not deemed a suitable environment for women so Angelica Kauffman and and Mary Moser, the two female Academicians, are represented in portraits on wall. Kauffman is on the left, looking directly out of her portrait at us.

It’s a wonderful exhibition which is well worth a visit. It opens on 1st March and is on until 30th June 2024.

The Time Is Always Now – a really enjoyable and thought-provoking exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery has opened. Curated by Ekow Eshun, this show gathers together the work of contemporary Black artists who depict the Black experience from their perspective. All the work was made in the last 20 years and captures the essence of the time we live in now yet mindful of the Black experience as it has been recorded in history, but from a White perspective.

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Above is a painting by Titus Kaphar (2018) entitled Seeing Through Time which mingles the depiction of a Black page in an 18th century painting and a contemporary portrait.

Above: Vanishing Point (Mignard) by Barbara Walker which depicts the black subject in an historical painting, done in graphite, while the rest of the picture is outlined in imprint. Middle: also by Barbara Walker called Marking the Moment, which highlights the presence of the black figure over the rest of the image in a period painting. And on the right is a dramatic painting by Kimathi Donkor who creates narrative paintings reimagining historical female characters from Africa and its diasporas. We see Harriet Tubman en route to Canada.

Above: The Captain and Mate by Lubaina Himid, The Adventuress Club Est. 1922 by Toyin Ojih Odutola and She was Learning to love moments, to love moments for themselves by Amy Sherald.

At the press preview it was very interesting to hear Ekow Eshun talk about the five years he has spent developing and curating this exhibition. He has assembled an impressive selection of leading African diasporic artists mainly working in the UK and USA. It’s high time that art depicting the Black experience is celebrated in a major gallery and the National Portrait Gallery has used its space in an imaginative and accessible way. They’re also making tickets available for just £5 to visitors under the age of 25.

I was very drawn to this wonderfully layered painting by Njideka Akunyili Crosby which uses transfers, colour pencil, collage on paper and acrylic paint.

The Time Is Always Now will be at the National Portrait Gallery until 19th May 2024.

Entangled Pasts 1768 – Now is a very thought-provoking show at the Royal Academy in London. In the late late 18th century many of the leading artists, and members of the new Royal Academy of Art, were instrumental in helping to change attitudes towards indigenous people and the abolition of slavery. There’s a very imaginative mingling of works from the late 19th century to pieces by artists working today, many of them contemporary members of the Royal Academy.

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Starting with the late 1700s, the first gallery is filled with charming and sensitive portraits of black sitters. Above, I’ve selected a Portrait of a man in a Red Suit by an unknown artist and a wonderful portrait of Ignatius Sancho, the first man of African descent to vote in a British election. He was a musician, shopkeeper, man of letters and friend of artists. Apparently this portrait by Thomas Gainsborough was completed in one sitting in 1768.

This painting is quite familiar because the subjects, Dido Elizabeth Belle and Lady Elizabeth Murray were bought up together at Kenwood House in London and have been the subject of a film. Painted by David Martin in 1779 this painting is beguiling because Lady Elizabeth appears in a conventional pose, with her book, but she’s affectionately connected to her second cousin, Dido (the illegitimate child of an enslaved woman and a Royal Navy officer) who is depicted in a rather mischievous pose as if she’s about to dart away with her collection of fruit and flowers. Lord Mansfield, who owned Kenwood House was Lord Chief Justice in England and instrumental in the abolition of slavery.

This magnificent bust by Francis Harwood, made in 1758, is placed at the centre of the first gallery and gives a wonderful gravitas and graciousness which sets the tone of the the exhibition.

Inevitably we see the role of the black servant in aristocratic homes. And this painting by Joshua Reynolds shows George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV) by Joshua Reynolds. The pose of the attendant – who is intimately arranging the prince’s clothing, caused a stir amongst audiences who first saw it at the RA Annual exhibition in 1787. No identity is given to the attendant but he is described as ‘Black’ by Reynolds.

The shadow of slavery continues with Edwin Longsden Long’s The Balylonian Marriage Market. Young women are selected by male spectators for marriage. I get the feeling he used the same model for most of the young women but darkened their skin colour.

The later galleries leave the iniquities of slavery behind but still reference the engagement of the British Empire with indigenous peoples and leave us a bit troubled by the lack of respect which travelled with the expansive ideas of British Imperialists. For example, the found wood and metal sculpture by El Anatsui called Akua’s Surviving Children is very powerful. Primitive Matters: Huts (2010) depicts the plain, sparse slave huts which contrast with the dwellings enjoyed by Europeans in Trinidad.

It’s good to see females well represented in the show. On the left you can see a work by The Singh Twins which references the ‘triangular trade’: goods were shipped from Europe to Africa, enslaved people were shipped to the Americas, plantation produce was shipped to Europe. The model featured is Fanny Eaton and you can see a sketch of her by Frederick Sandys on the right.

The show runs at the Royal Academy form 3rd February until 28th April 2024.

This fabulous sculpture placed in the courtyard of the Royal Academy is by Tavares Strachan. Made of bronze, black and gold leaf it’s called The First Supper (Galaxy Black) made in 2023.