The Regal Image of Richard II and the Wilton Diptych

This monograph is based on a symposium held in the National Gallery, London which showed how Richard II’s beliefs may have been expressed in the highly religious work, the Wilton Diptych, and how he aspired to equal in magnificence the royal figures of Europe, in particular Bohemia and France. Richard’s love of material splendour from the rebuilding of Westminster Hall to his lavish expenditure on dress and gifts is argued in these essays. All the facets of the regal image are underpinned by experts in the history, sociology and artefacts of the period, who in their studies aim to bring out the political difficulties under which Richard was operating.