An Oxford college has removed a portrait of an 18th-century duke following concerns it would offend students.
The painting of Henry Somerset, the 5th Duke of Beaufort, normally hangs in the Senior Library of Oriel College in Oxford.
However, the painting shows a young black servant in the background, which has raised concerns over whether it would offend students.
The duke was a direct descendant of King Henry IV of England and graduated from Oriel in 1763. He died in 1803.
The painting has reportedly been taken back to Badminton Estate while work is ongoing at the college
Getty/Oriel College
In the portrait, the Duke can be seen wearing ermine robes, a powdered wig, stockings and breeches, while in the background a small black boy holds his coronet.
Now, it has reportedly been moved from the college to Badminton House, Gloucestershire, the ancestral home where the 12th Duke currently resides
A college source told MailOnline: “It’s of a black page boy or servant. That’s why it had to be banished – in case it offended a student.
“It’s a fine way to treat one of Oriel’s great benefactors, the first to endow scholarships for poor scholars since the Middle Ages.”
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Oriel College in Oxford
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The college says the portrait has been loaned to Badminton House as a temporary measure while there is work ongoing at the college.
The portrait will be returned to the Senior Library once those refurbishments are completed, according to reports.
GB News has approached The Beaufort Estate, Oxford University and the college for a comment.
Oriel College has been embroiled in a row over its past benefactors, with students campaigning to remove a statue of coloniser Cecil Rhodes.
The statue of Cecil Rhodes
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Rhodes, a mining magnate and politician, left the college £100,000, about £10million in today’s money, in his will in 1902, which has funded many scholarships.
However, a campaign group, Rhodes Must Fall argues the statue is a symbol of colonialism and the violence that accompanies it.
An explanatory plaque has been set up saying Rhodes was a “committed British colonialist” who “obtained his fortune through exploitation of minerals, land and peoples of southern Africa. Some of his activities led to great loss of life and attracted criticism in his day and ever since.”
It adds: “In recent years, the statue has become a focus for public debate on racism and the legacy of colonialism. In June 2020, Oriel College declared its wish to remove the statue but is not doing so following legal and regulatory advice.”
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