'Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy' opens at the British Library

Julian Harrison and HRH the Prince of Wales in front 
of the statue of Geoffrey de Mandeville 

Yesterday evening saw the triumphant opening of Magna Carta, Law, Liberty, Legacy at the British Library, by HRH the Prince of Wales. The exhibition is the biggest anywhere devoted to the history of a single document. It brings together an astonishing array of exhibits, in a way that is unlikely to be seen again – from King John’s thumb bone, to Thomas Jefferson’s draft of the American Declaration of Independence, to letters revealing Winston Churchill’s plan to gift Lincoln’s Magna Carta to the USA, as well (of course) as the British Library’s two 1215 Magna Cartas and examples of other thirteenth-century issues. (You can view the collection items here). 

Claire Breay and Julian Harrison show the Savernake hunting horn to HRH the Prince of Wales

Curated by Claire Breay and Julian Harrion, the exhibition was planned with advice from Nicholas Vincent and David Carpenter of the Magna Carta Project, with the support of the AHRC. Already it has received laudatory reviews in the Guardian and the Telegraph. 

Claire Breay introduces a replica of King John's effigy