The King's Bed and its furniture at Knole: this rare and magnificent seventeenth-century state bed and its accompanying furniture were probably made in Paris for the Duke of York, later James II. Christopher Rowell examines new evidence about their history

Apollo, Nov, 2004 by Christopher Rowell

The suit is of fine drab (originally purplish) woollen cloth lavishly embroidered with silver and silver gilt thread and lined with crimson silk, with the Garter star embroidered on the chest. The Duke was made a Knight of the Garter in 1642. This tends to confirm the Carteret family tradition that the suit did indeed belong to the Duke, given that there were only twenty one members of this most exclusive and prestigious order in 1673, and that the costume certainly dates from the 1670s. (11) According to Susan North, curator of costume at the V&A, the use of English wool albeit of very fine quality--is somewhat unusual, although it certainly could be employed for state costume. A French woven silk and silver-gilt tissue would have been de rigueur for a royal marriage, especially as the Duke of York was heir to the throne. (12)

However, the ceremony took place in winter, (13) and--following its consummation that very night (14)--the newly wedded couple was subsequently (on the 26 November) first greeted by the Court in a procession of boats on the Thames. (15) The suit was probably supplied by the Great Wardrobe, where royal clothing was made, often by foreign tailors and embroiderers." It is also possible that the English cloth was sent to Paris to be embroidered there. (17) The cut and form of the coat derives from French military fashion and is a style introduced to England by the Duke's elder brothel; Charles II. It seems to be a unique survival of this mode of costume, certainly in Britain, and--with one exception--in Europe. (18)

Additional corroboration of the French style of the embroidery--both on the King's Bed and on the suit--derives from its close similarity with that of the horse caparisons and saddles given by Louis XIV to Charles XI of Sweden in 1673. This extravagant gift includes trappings that would have been made by professional Parisian embroiderers at the royal manufactory at the Gobelins. (19)

When and where was the furniture made?

Given that it was removed from Whitehall in 1694, the King's Bed may be the bed in which Mary of Modena received the court on the day of Charles II's death on 6 February 1685. (20) This was presumably in the apartment that the new King and Queen occupied as Duke and Duchess of York. The Yorks certainly had separate beds and separate quarters in adjacent lodgings in Whitehall Palace, created in late 1664 by Hugh May for the Duke and his first Duchess, Anne Hyde, behind the range of buildings at the south-east corner of the Privy Garden, overlooking the Thames. Further improvements were made in 1665-66 and 1670 before Anne Hyde's death in March 1671. (21) Shortly before the Duke's marriage to Mary of Modena in 1673 the Sergeant Painter was paid for 'sprucing up the duchess's rooms', and the construction of a new bedchamber and oratory was put in train."

Simon Thurley kindly points out that the Yorks' main residence was at St James's Palace, making it more likely that the King's Bed was placed there originally. Such beds were put up and taken down often, so even though it was definitely at Whitehall in 1694--it may well have been at St James's beforehand. The Duke of York's lodgings at both palaces were remodelled and refurnished in anticipation of the 1673 marriage. (23) This is a strong argument for the installation of a new bed and seat furniture, but the King's Bed is not listed in an inventory of the Duke of