These full-size representations of kings, queens and important public figures, including Elizabeth I and Nelson, are carved in wood or wax. Lots of them are in their own clothes and with their own accessories, making up a gallery of amazingly lifelike celebrity portraits stretching over four centuries of British history.

Visitors have been fascinated by them since the 17th century, but only more recently has the importance of their role in the history of English portraiture, costume and funeral ritual been recognised.

Why were funeral effigies used? 

Originally it was the custom to display the corpse of a dead monarch during the funeral procession but sometimes this was not possible. The first recorded use of an effigy appears in the 1327 accounts of the Great Wardrobe (office which provided clothing and textiles to the Royal Family) about the burial of Edward II at Gloucester Abbey.

Following his murder at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire in September 1327, the body was put in a coffin and remained there until being taken to Gloucester a month later to wait for the funeral. This delay, due to delicate political arrangements, meant that the corpse would not have been in a good enough state to be displayed, so an effigy was used instead. The earliest effigy in the Abbey’s collection is that of Edward III, from 1377

These models began to play an important part in the funeral rituals of important people, offering a visible likeness as a focus for the ceremony.

Also, kingship was (and to a certain extent still is) thought of as both a political and a mystical phenomenon.  Sovereigns, as well as being human, are regarded as divine as a result of their coronation anointing. The effigy, dressed in elaborate clothes and often holding the orb and sceptre in its hands, represented the deceased monarch on his journey to appear before the most holy King of all.

The collection is also remarkable for its rare historic costumes, including Charles II's Garter robes, Nelson's hat, a recently discovered corset from 1603 that belonged to Elizabeth I, extraordinary Georgian paste jewellery, rare early silks and shoes, and probably the oldest stuffed bird in England.

The effigies fall into three main groups defined by their history and function.

• Royal effigies from Edward III to James I, made for use at the funeral. Probably brought together in the early 17th century, they are made of wood and plaster and are sometimes known as the “ragged regiment” as most of the clothing they once wore has disappeared.
  
  
• Effigies made after 1660 for use at, or in association with, funerals. These have heads and hands of wax, and their costumes have survived very well.
  
  
• Effigies made in the 18th and 19th centuries for exhibition purposes unconnected with a funeral ceremony.

Henry VII and Nelson

One of the most fascinating models is that of Henry VII, father of Henry VIII. He died in 1509, and the effigy’s head is based on the King’s death mask making it extraordinarily realistic as the features all directly reflect those of Henry’s corpse. Sometimes this can show what a monarch died of – a lop-sided face could indicate a stroke. Although it is unclear who made Henry's effigy, it is thought to be the work of the Florentine sculptor Pietro Torrigiano. All that remains is the head, an arm, and one of the feet.

The waxwork of Nelson was the last to be placed in the Abbey, although it was not a funeral effigy as Nelson was buried in St Paul’s Cathedral. It was used more as an attraction for visitors. It has a reputation as being very lifelike – Nelson’s nephew said it looked more like him than any other portrait. But as it had no connection with his funeral or burial place, the association at Westminster Abbey between effigy and tomb was broken.

A true picture

The models in the collection are so interesting and eerie because they often give us a true likeness of the king, queen or statesman based on death masks and with their actual clothes, rather than more unreliable portraits that could have been painted to flatter the sitter. 

For visitors they remain uniquely valuable representations of England’s monarchs and national heroes.