Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire will be opening a new exhibition next year to celebrate 500 years of motherhood at one of the country’s finest Regency castles. The 'Motherhood at Belvoir' display opens on Saturday 29th March for Mother’s Day and will run for six weeks, focusing on the incredible mothers from Belvoir’s fascinating history.

Belvoir will be telling the fascinating stories of the women who lived and brought up their children at the castle, including Eleanor, Countess of Rutland, who attended on four of Henry VIII’s queens between her eleven pregnancies; Mary Isabella, Duchess of Rutland, who was fiercely protective of her nine year old son’s interests after the unexpected early death of his father; and Violet, Duchess of Rutland, a talented artist whose pencil drawings of her five children reveal talent, as well as the love she had for them, but who almost gave up drawing when she found it difficult to juggle her career with her domestic duties.

The roles, attitudes, dreams and heartaches of these intrepid women, amongst others, are explored through artwork and stories from Belvoir Castle’s extensive archives. The exhibition will be available from Saturday 29th March until Sunday 11th May and entry will be included in Castle and Garden admission tickets, which are £26 for adults, £10 for children (3-16 years) or £60 for a family ticket (two adults and three children). Children under three go free. Find out more at https://www.belvoircastle.com/