The Sobieskis and the Stuarts - an exhibition about unusual relationships and exceptional families

A temporary exhibition at the Museum of King Jan III's Palace in Wilanów is dedicated to the connections between the Sobieski family and the Stuart dynasty – one of the most important royal families of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It can be viewed from October 25th until the end of May 2026.

The exhibition "The Sobieskis and the Stuarts – The Splendor and Specter of the Crown" is the first of its kind to present masterpieces of painting, collected and arranged into a narrative about the familial and political relations between the Sobieski and Stuart families. The exhibition combines works of art, personal memorabilia, and documents, including those from private collections that have never before been made available to the general public, according to the exhibition's creators at the Museum of King Jan III's Palace in Wilanów.

Among the most important objects are portraits of Maria Clementina Sobieska and James III of England by Antonio David, portraits of their sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict, Maria Clementina's watch, Queen Mary Stuart's prayer book, engravings depicting the exhibition's subjects and the Roman palaces they lived in. Visitors will also see scenes of the couple's wedding, their son's baptism, a unique letter from Prince Konstanty Sobieski from 1720, and many other works of art and memorabilia.

The central figure of the exhibition is Maria Klementyna Sobieska – granddaughter of King John III and Mary Casimire, wife of James III of England, pretender to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. At the age of 17, she became his fiancée and, after many trials and tribulations – including her arrest at Innsbruck Castle, at the behest of the emperor, who opposed the marriage – and a dramatic escape across the Alps, she reached Italy to marry James in 1719.

The princess's fate – from a promising marriage, through a short, happy life in Italy, which resulted in two sons, through a conflict with her husband that grew as a result of differences of opinion regarding their upbringing, to isolation in a convent and death – reflects the fate of many women of that era, whose lives were shaped by big politics – describe the creators of the exhibition.

Thanks to cooperation with institutions from Ukraine – the B. Woźnicki Lviv National Art Gallery and the Lviv Historical Museum – the exhibition will feature, for the first time in Poland, objects related to the Sobieski family from Ukrainian collections.

The exhibition will be complemented by exhibits from the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the National Library, the National Museum in Warsaw, and the Wilanów Palace Museum's own collections.

It will be complemented by a musical score consisting of selected works from the patronage of Maria Clementina and James III/VIII, chosen by Dr. Aneta Markuszewska, author of the book "In the Shadow of the Crown. Music in the Politics of James III Stuart and His Wife Maria Clementina Sobieska in Rome (1719-1735)".

The exhibition is accompanied by an educational program addressed to various audiences.

The exhibition is held under the patronage of the POLONIKA National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad, and the honorary patronage is held by the Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Warsaw.

More information on the website.

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