Mary and Thomas Watson, Forgotten Power Couple of H.M.S. Victory

A painting, in the collection of Royal Museums Greenwich, depicts the death of the heroic naval commander Lord Nelson, which took place on 21 October 1805. The work, completed in 1807 by William Arthur Devis, portrays a commotion around the leader as prominent men linked to the battle busy themselves as he lies pale and dazed on the floorboards of his ship, partly covered with a white sheet. They include Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, the ship’s captain; William Beatty the surgeon and the ship’s chaplain, Dr Alexander Scott. There are around a dozen figures in all, but there is at least one notable person missing from the scene: Mary Watson...

This is a paid subscriber-only post - read the full article on Substack

Copy of ‘The Death of Nelson’. Wellcome Collection, Wikimedia Commons