The Rainbow Portrait at Hampton Court Palace

We are excited to announce that the famous Tudor portrait which usually faces the entrance to the Marble Hall, has been sent to Hampton Court Palace for an exciting exhibition. Visitors to The Lost Dress of Elizabeth I exhibition will have the opportunity to see the Bacton Altar Cloth, a rare survival of an Elizabethan dress worn by Elizabeth I and the iconic Rainbow Portrait together.

Eleri Lynn, Collections Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, said “After three-years of painstaking conservation and research, we’re thrilled to finally be putting this exquisite object on display at Hampton Court Palace, Elizabeth’s former home. To have an item of Tudor dress with such a close link to Queen Elizabeth I is extraordinarily rare, and we are very excited to display the Bacton Altar Cloth next to the legendary Rainbow Portrait, with its prominent similarities to the fabric of the cloth itself.”

Be sure to catch the exhibition which is running at Hampton Court Palace from the 12 October 2019 – 23 February 2020.

Photo credit: © Historic Royal Palaces/David Jensen. Courtesy of St Faith’s Church, Bacton.