The Henry VIII Room

This imposing room was originally one of the principal guest bedrooms, and is now known as The Henry VIII Bedroom because it contains a portrait of the English Monarch by an artist working in the style of Hans Holbein II.

You may notice that this room is altogether more austere than the family rooms on the opposite side of the Gallery. In many respects it reflects the interests of the 4th Marquess of Bute, who was less enamoured by the rich decoration of the Victorian Gothic revival than his father had been.

The 4th Marquess was a keen collector of 16th and 17th Century paintings and furniture and part of his extensive collection can be seen here. This includes the bed, which he purchased in 1938 from St Donats Castle in Wales. The artwork gracing the walls also includes Windsor family portraits; the family from whom the Butes had taken their Welsh inheritance. The most intriguing portrait is perhaps the group portrait attributed to Joos Van Cleve and traditionally identified as Margaret Tudor (sister of Henry VIII and wife of James IV of Scotland), The Duke of Albany (Regent of Scotland during the minority of Margaret’s son, James V), a man in English Royal Livery. There have been many theories about the symbolism of this portrait as it was produced during the 1520s – a turbulent period in Scottish history.

Mount Stuart, Britain’s most astounding Victorian gothic house