Muddy bunch of rags’ found at the bottom of the North Sea belonged to a noble woman

A collection of rags found at the bottom of the North Sea has been revealed to contain a luxurious wardrobe which may have belonged to one of Charles I’s female courtiers.

Divers off found the treasure, which came from a shipwreck, after it was exposed by a storm which washed away silt that had covered it for four centuries.

When they separated the items, they realised that they had discovered one remarkably well-preserved dress.

And now researchers have found a letter which proves that one of the ships carrying the retinue of Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I, to Holland in 1642 sank in the same area as the new discovery.

They have been able to make a tentative suggestion that the gown could have belonged to Jane Ker, Countess of Roxburghe, a controversial Catholic adviser to the queen who accompanied her on the voyage in the early years of the English Civil War.

Divers first found the Stuart haul in August 2014, shortly after the treasure was uncovered from the silt due to turbulent conditions.

Rob van Eerden, the project leader, said that among the divers’ discovery was ‘this muddy bunch of rags’.

But when they examined it closer, they realised that the ‘rags’ were in fact made up of several antique dresses, including one which is nearly intact.

One expert said that the dress was the first complete item of clothing from the era to have been found in the country.

The dresses were made of silk and embroidered with silver and gold thread, implying that they must have been owned by wealthy people.

Other items discovered in the haul included boots, a comb and a velvet purse – all items likely to have come from the wardrobe of a noblewoman.

One clue was a Bible stamped with the arms of the Stuart family, suggesting that the owner was not just aristocratic but must have had close connections to the royal dynasty.

Source: Daily mail

N.H.Kh