The secrets of the ugly duchess

With a strength of character that belied her fragile looks, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun pushed the boundaries of royal portraiture and, after the French Revolution, challenged the loss of female influence via every frill and fold in her work

This autumn, the V&A unveils a captivating exhibition dedicated to Marie Antoinette, the ill-fated French queen whose brief yet eventful life continues to bewitch audiences and fuel the creative imagination. Marie-Claire Chappet traces her enduring influence on culture and fashion

Exhibition of the week Between Sleeping and Waking ...

Marie Antoinette’s passion for furniture and genius for bagatelles, however evanescent their purpose, filled the French royal palaces with beauty and charm, as Matthew Dennison reveals

Does a newly found Nicholas Hilliard miniature portray Shakespeare’s patron the Earl of Southampton?

Charlotte Mullins comments on Elizabeth I when a Princess