Cavalier: The Story of a 17th Century Playboy
"William Cavendish, courageous, cultured, and passionate about women, embodies the popular image of a cavalier. Famously defeated at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644, he went into a long and miserable continental exile before returning to England in triumph on the restoration of King Charles II to the throne in 1660."
On his return to England, William retired from public life and instead focussed on his estate. He is best known for his passion for horsemanship and was regarded as the finest horseman in Europe. He occupied himself with his favourite pursuit of training horses and established a five-mile racecourse near Welbeck.
- Paperback
- 332 pages
Dr Lucy Worsley is Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and opened The Portland Collection in 2016. Listen to Lucy's opening speech at the Portland Collection Gallery here.
Several objects commissioned by William Cavendish can be seen in our current exhibition Unseen Treasures. Including some of the largest and earliest horse portraits in British art, several statuettes by Francesco Fanelli, tapestries designed by Abraham van Diepenbeke and woven by Michiel Wauters, and William's Book of Horsemanship which laid the foundations for modern dressage. Learn more about Fanelli in this article by Rebecca Hardy.
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