Historic Royal Palaces is launching research into the properties it manages, which include Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace, and their connections to the slave trade, with a curator tasked with uncovering ties.
HRP confirmed that the new curator for inclusive history will be in charge of the study and be supported by the organisation’s wider research team.
It had been reported that Lucy Worsley, HRP’s head curator and host of BBC’s Royal History’s Biggest Fibs, would be in charge of the research, but the organisation said that was incorrect.
Worsley hinted at the scale of the work awaiting the successful candidate, telling the Times “anything to do with the Stuarts is going to have an element of money derived from slavery within it”.
Prof Paulina Kewes of Oxford’s Faculty of English and Jesus College, who has written extensively about the Stuart dynasty, said any review would need substantial resources to uncover all the connections between the royals and the slave trade.
She said: “If you think of country houses, say, Harewood House on the outskirts of Leeds – it’s clear they had plantations in Jamaica and the Caribbean that’s where the money came from. But state revenue comes from a variety of different sources.
“In order for something of substance to happen, the work of that particular curator, or you could say PR person, has to be underpinned by solid research, which couldn’t even be done necessarily by one person. It has to be a network that should be properly funded.”
HRP confirmed the person filling its advertised vacancy would be responsible for the research. Once the appointment is made, HRP will decide the research priorities that will “provide rich content for our future exhibitions, programming, publications and digital activity”.
Many of the properties managed by Historic Royal Palaces have connections with William III – part-owner of the Royal African Company, which was one of the most prolific traders in enslaved people who were then sent to the Americas.
Edward Colston, the slaver whose statue was pulled down this summer in Bristol, gave the king shares when he came to the throne in 1689. William went on to buy Nottingham House, remodel it and it became known as Kensington Palace and the king also remodeled Hampton Court Palace and installed apartments.
HRP’s spokesperson said: “We cannot ignore the fact that for hundreds of years colonialism and empire, enslavement and exploitation were part of our national story. As seats of power, the palaces in our care are connected to that history. We expect the research will address this in more depth.
“Equally, we know we must do more to celebrate the contribution made by the minority communities who have lived and worked at the palaces for hundreds of years. There are many untold stories to explore.”
The curatorial role, which has a salary of £38,978 and is a four-day-a-week appointment, calls for someone who will help “champion an understanding of history in the presentation of the palaces today”, and with experience of “creating personalised experiences that inspire and provoke change”.
The HRP spokesperson said that the ambition for the initiative is for something much more “long-term and broad” than a ‘review’.
