What is the king giving this man, and why? The great British art quiz

The King’s Shilling, c.1770, unknown artist. Photograph: National Army Museum

This quiz is brought to you in collaboration with Art UK, the online home for the UK’s public art collections, showing art from over 3,000 venues and by 45,000 artists. Each day, a different collection on Art UK will set the questions.

Today, our questions are set by the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London. The museum is a leading authority on the British Army and its impact on society, past and present. It examines the army’s role as protector, aggressor and peacekeeper from the British civil wars to the modern day, and through its collections it preserves and shares stories of ordinary people with extraordinary responsibilities.

You can see art from the National Army Museum on Art UK here, and find out more on the museum’s website here.

1. 

   Which item of clothing was named after Lord Brudenell?

   1. The cardigan

   2. The balaclava

   3. The wellington boot

   4. The raglan sleeve

2. 

   This is the most popular picture in the National Army Museum’s collection. What epic war film depicts a battle from this war?

   1. The Bridge on the River Kwai

   2. Zulu

   3. Lawrence of Arabia

   4. The Charge of the Light Brigade

3. 

   What does the expression "to take the King’s shilling" refer to?

   1. Joining the British Army

   2. Stealing from the Bank of England

   3. Promotion of other ranks to officers

   4. Pickpocketing

4. 

   This portrait was painted by Rex Whistler on the day he received his uniform. Which famous London park provided the backdrop for the painting?

   1. Hyde Park

   2. Green Park

   3. St James’s Park

   4. Regent’s Park

5. 

   What is Britain’s highest award for military bravery in the presence of the enemy?

   1. The Military Cross

   2. The Distinguished Service Order

   3. The Victoria Cross

   4. The George Cross

6. 

   What flower is associated with Prince William, Duke of Cumberland?

   1. Pulmonaria officinalis

   2. Orchis militaris

   3. Dianthus barbatus

   4. Sequoiadendron giganteum

7. 

   By what name was the artist Elizabeth Southerden Thompson better known?

   1. Lady Harris

   2. Lady Burrard

   3. Countess Gleichen

   4. Lady Butler

8. 

   The artist William Barns Wollen served in the Artists’ Rifles. What president of the Royal Academy of Arts was Honorary Colonel of the regiment in the 1880s?

   1. William Holman Hunt

   2. Francis Grant

   3. Alfred Munnings

   4. Frederic Leighton

Solutions

1:A - James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, led the famous Charge of the Light Brigade on 25 October 1854. He also popularised a knitted wool waistcoat or vest. However, all of the others answer options listed are also linked with military personalities or events. Image: Lieutenant-Colonel (later Lieutenant-General) James Thomas Brudenell (1796-1868), 7th Earl of Cardigan, 11th (Prince Albert’s Own) Hussars, c.1854, Alfred Frank de Prades (1840-95), National Army Museum , 2:B - The Battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift were the first significant engagements of the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. This painting made little impact when it was exhibited in 1885 since the event was neither glorious nor topical. However, attitudes and interests have changed, particularly since the film Zulu appeared in 1964. Image: The Battle of Isandlwana, 22 January 1879, c.1885, Charles Edwin Fripp (1854-1906), National Army Museum, 3:A - Conscripts were paid a bounty of a shilling to join the British Army. Some recruiting sergeants would get prospective recruits drunk before slipping them a shilling. Some tankards were made with glass bottoms so that drinkers could ensure that a shilling was not slipped into their drinks. Image: The King’s Shilling, c.1770, unknown artist, National Army Museum, 4:D - Looking relaxed and debonair, Rex Whistler depicted himself enjoying a drink on the balcony of a friend’s house in York Terrace, overlooking Regent's Park, London. Image: Rex Whistler’s Self-Portrait in Welsh Guards Uniform, May 1940, 1940, Rex Whistler (1905-44), National Army Museum, 5:C - Khudadad Khan was the first Indian soldier to win the Victoria Cross after eligibility for the award was extended in 1911 to Indian officers and men of the Indian Army. He was honoured for his bravery on 31 October 1914, at Hollebecke in Belgium. Image: Subadar Khudadad Khan (1888-1971), VC, 10th Baluch Regiment, c.1935, Henry Charles Bevan-Petman (1894-1980) © the copyright holder. National Army Museum, 6:C - Dianthus barbatus, or Sweet William, is said to have been named after Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Cumberland was also nicknamed ‘the Butcher’ following the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Image: William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721-65), c.1750, David Morier (1705-70), National Army Museum, 7:D - Although she didn’t witness war at first hand, Lady Butler had an enormous influence on the popularity of battle paintings. Her Crimean war painting The Roll Call enjoyed great public success and was purchased by Queen Victoria. Unusually, it presented soldiers rather than officers as the heroes. Lady Butler became a celebrity and over a quarter of a million photographs of her were sold to her fans. Image: Study of a Wounded Guardsman, Crimea, c.1854 (verso), c.1874, Elizabeth Southerden Thompson Butler (1846-1933), National Army Museum, 8:D - The regiment was raised as part of the rifle volunteer movement of 1860. Its full title was The 38th Middlesex (Artists) Rifle Volunteers and it was so-named because it was mainly composed of painters, sculptors, engravers, musicians, architects and actors. The artist James Whistler famously described Sir Frederic Leighton as ‘Colonel of the Royal Academy and the President of the Artists Rifles – aye, and he paints a little!’ Image: The Territorials at Pozières, 23 July 1916, 1917, William Barns Wollen (1857-1936), National Army Museum

Scores

1. 6 and above.

   Field-Marshal

2. 0 and above.

   New recruit

3. 3 and above.

   Captain