Apr 18, 2025
John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort, 1649 - 1714. Secretary of State for Scotland and Jacobite
Artist: Sir Godfrey Kneller (German, 1646-1723)
Date: 1688
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
Description
Seen here in his robes of the Order of the Thistle, Melfort had been described as 'one of the handsomest men of his time, an accomplished dancer and of an active, undertaking temper'. Like King James VII, Melfort and his brother, James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth converted to Catholicism and they virtually ruled Scotland on James's behalf. When James went into exile the brothers followed him and in 1695 Melfort was stripped of his titles and land, by William of Orange.
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