Intrigued by the figure of a boy in a copy of a painting of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria in the Queen's House, Ann Stamper researched the boy's life. She discovered the extraordinary tale of Jeffrey Hudson, a boy who grew to a man of 46 cm tall, the friend and companion of a queen, Royalist Captain of Horse during the Civil War, duelist and later, captive of the dreaded Barbary Corsairs.

Queen Henrietta Maria, 1609-69, studio of Sir Anthony van Dyck, circa 1638. Repro ID: BHC2761. Copyright: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Objects referenced

• Charles I and Henrietta Maria departing for the chase by Daniel Mytens, circa 1630–32 (The Royal Collection)
• Jeffrey Hudson by Daniel Mytens, circa 1628–30 (The Royal Collection)

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