Exhibit 1: a 16-century painting of a gentleman. Sir John Maitland -- distinguished, elegant.
Lord Chancellor of Scotland.
His 1587 portrait hangs in the Ham House in England's National Trust.
Only he's not the only one on the canvas.
X-ray technology revealed the original occupant: a ghostly portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots.
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| Mary, looking very queenly (Wikipedia) |
She'd been painted over -- two years after her execution in 1587. Replaced by a portrait of Maitland. (She wasn't too popular, insisting that everyone turn Catholic, and trying to take the English throne away from her sister Elizabeth. Things like that. She lost her head for it.)
A Scottish queen, supplanted by a Scottish Chancellor. Fascinating.
Shades of The Who:
Here's the straight scoop.
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