Turner’s Only Royal Commission to Return to Public Display

2025 marks the 250^th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner, one of Britain’s most admired Romantic painters.

To commemorate this landmark anniversary, the National Maritime Museum is returning one of Turner’s most important masterpieces to display in the Queen’s House. The Battle of Trafalgar will be on public display from 21 October 2025, 220 years to the day since the Battle of Trafalgar.

Measuring more than three metres across, The Battle of Trafalgar is the largest painting that Turner ever completed. It commemorates the most decisive naval action of the Napoleonic Wars, the victory of the British Royal Navy over a combined French and Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. 

The painting was made for King George IV in 1824 – Turner’s only royal commission. It initially attracted criticism from naval officials, who complained about factual inaccuracies, but it was later acclaimed as a highlight of the Naval Gallery – a popular public art gallery set within the grounds of the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich. 

In The Battle of Trafalgar, Turner captures the human drama of the action, from the struggles of the ordinary sailors to the fatal wounding of their commander, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. The finished composition is a symbolic amalgamation of different moments in the battle. Nelson’s flagship, Victory, is depicted on an exaggerated scale, an artistic decision intended to emphasise the might of British naval power. The ship’s falling foremast, bearing the vice-admiral’s flag, symbolises Nelson’s demise. The signal flags spell the final three letters of ‘duty’, referencing both Nelson’s famous order, ‘England expects every man to do his duty’, and some of his dying words, ‘Thank God I have done my duty.’

The French ship Redoubtable, from which the fatal shot came, foundered in a storm after the battle but is depicted sinking in the thick of the action. In compressing the timeline, Turner emphasised the defeat of the Franco-Spanish fleet. 

However, while celebrating Britain’s triumph, Turner did not shy away from the brutal realities of naval warfare and encouraged respect and sympathy for sailors manning the ships on both sides of the conflict. In the centre of the image, at what would have been eye level when the painting was first displayed in St James’s Palace, the lifeless eyes of a dead seafarer gaze out. The Latin word ‘ferat’ appears in the water beside him, recalling Nelson’s motto, Palam qui meruit ferat (‘Let him who has earned it bear the Palm’). The palm referenced in the motto was a traditional symbol of victory, but the sailor’s suffering undermines this noble ideal of glory.

In 1829, George IV had Turner’s The Battle of Trafalgar transferred from St James’s Palace to the Naval Gallery. Greenwich Hospital, where the gallery was situated, provided accommodation for elderly and disabled naval veterans, many of whom had served at Trafalgar. This made it a fitting home for Turner’s painting, given its emphasis on the labour and suffering of common sailors. 

The Battle of Trafalgar was taken off display in March 2024 to protect it during a capital project at the National Maritime Museum. Its new home places it within the heart of the Museum’s fine art collection in the Queen’s House art gallery. It will be displayed alongside artworks from the Museum’s collection that tell the story of its journey from St James’s Palace to the Naval Gallery at Greenwich. 

A new book has also been published celebrating this exceptional artwork. J.M.W. Turner’s The Battle of Trafalgar: Commemoration and Controversy is part of Royal Museums Greenwich’s new Spotlight series. Curator Katherine Gazzard considers the challenges that Turner faced during the creation of the painting, the public response to it and the fascinating history that led to its place at the centre of a national art collection.

 

Notes to Editors

1. The 17th century Queen’s House, designed by Inigo Jones, was the first Classical building in England since the Romans. It is known for its perfectly proportioned Great Hall, original marble floor and beautiful Tulip Stairs. The Queen’s House has Scheduled Monument status as it is a building of unique architectural importance. Visitors to the Queen’s House can see highlights from the National Maritime Museum’s fine art collection, including famous portraits of Elizabeth I and James Duke of York; and exquisite examples of the work of the Van de Veldes.
    
2. The Queen’s House is part of Royal Museums Greenwich which also incorporates the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory Greenwich and the famous clipper ship Cutty Sark. This unique collection of museums and heritage buildings form a key part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also a major centre of education and research. The mission of Royal Museums Greenwich is to enrich people’s understanding of the sea, the exploration of space, and Britain's role in world history. For more information, visit www.rmg.co.uk

3. J.M.W. Turner’s The Battle of Trafalgar: Commemoration and Controversy is published by Royal Museums Greenwich. 96 pages, paperback, £12.99, ISBN: 9781068765995

    

For further information or to request press images, please contact:

Royal Museums Greenwich Press Office 
press@rmg.co.uk | 020 8312 6790