Dr Bos awarded Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust

Dr Bos has been awarded £113,714 to research the French Royal Order of the Holy Spirit, which was founded in 1578 by the French king Henri III, and disbanded in 1830.

Despite being one of the major European royal orders, unlike similar orders such as the Golden Fleece and the Garter the French Royal Order of the Holy Spirit has never been the subject of a comprehensive study.

Informed by an international and multidisciplinary network of academic and museum-based experts, Dr Bos will endeavour to show how the ceremonies of the order developed, bringing together architecture, paintings, sculpture, textiles, costumes and metalwork in support of the developing French absolutism.

She will curate a major exhibition dedicated to this order, to be held at the Louvre in 2023, and will also complete a book focusing on the artistic patronage of the order.