A TIMELY GIFT FOR CHARLES’S RESCUER

After Charles I’s execution, his son, Charles II (right), raised an army to continue the fight against Oliver Cromwell and Parliament but was defeated at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651. He was forced to flee, famously hiding from his pursuers in an oak tree at one stage. A network of royalists kept him hidden until he was able to reach safety in France.

One of the houses in which he sheltered was Bentley Hall, near Wolverhampton, home of Colonel John Lane. From there Charles travelled south with Lane’s sister Jane, disguised as her servant. As a token of his thanks he gave her this beautiful rock- crystal and silvergilt fob watch, decorated with floral engraving.

It was the work of Henry Grendon, a noted London clock and watch maker. The watch, and its leather case, lined with red velvet, were kept by the Lane family until 1928, when Major- General Sir John Lane gave it to George V.

Adapted by Tony Rennell from Art, Passion & Power: The Story Of The Royal Collection by Michael Hall, with an introduction by Jonathan Marsden, Director of Royal Collection Trust, £30. Text: Royal Collection Trust/ © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2017. To order a copy for £24 p&p free visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640. Offer valid until 27 January, 2018. The BBC’s Royal Collection season starts with The Coronation tomorrow at

8pm on BBC1. Visit royalcollection.org.uk.

A rockcrystal and silver-gilt fob watch with its case