The Royal Collection contains one of the largest and most comprehensive groups of miniatures in existence. This catalogue describes portraits dating from the origins of the art in the 1520s up to the end of the seventeenth century, and includes more than 400 examples, all reproduced in color and most shown at actual size. Artists painting miniatures during the Tudor and Stuart period are particularly well represented, and the illustrations include outstanding works by Lucas Horenbout, Hans Holbein the Younger, Nicholas Hilliard, and others.Portraits of virtually every British sovereign from Henry VII to Queen Anne are included, as are Louis XIV and his court. There are likenesses of literary and religious figures as well as people associated with major historical events, making the catalogue a valuable resource for historians and specialists in the fields of costume, arms and armor, and insignia.