Seventeenth-century paintings return to Windsor Castle after 150 years

Grace Witherden

Visitors at Windsor Castle will get to see two newly conserved paintings by the mysterious 17th-century Armenian artist Marcos.

The paintings have been installed in the King's Dining Room at Windsor Castle for the first time in 150 years. They were last recorded within the castle in the early 1870s.

Marcos is otherwise unknown and it is not known how or when the paintings arrived in England. They were first recorded as hanging at Windsor Castle in James II’s inventory in 1688, and subsequently hung at Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace. 

Support the Sultan… and Damn the Armenians

Jirair Tutunjian

England and the Ottomans had diplomatic relations as early as during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in late 16^th century. Although the Continent was threatened by the Ottomans, the English retained amicable diplomatic relations with the Sublime Porte. Relations between London and Istanbul became warmer at the beginning of the 19^th century when Britain began to perceive the Russians as a threat. To ‘contain’ Russia during the Great Game, Britain supported the declining Ottomans and reversed the gains Russia had made in the Caucasus and in Eastern Europe. The climax of the support was the notorious (for Armenians and Russians) Congress of Vienna (*) which nullified concessions the Ottomans had made to Russia at San Stafano.