Тюдор Роза из BL Royal 11 E XI, ф. 2

Detail of an allegorical miniature of a bush of the Tudor rose incorporating a Latin poem celebrating the House of Tudor, with a scroll reading 'Salve, radix varios producens germine ramos, / Quos inter ramus supereminet altior unus', with daisies for Henry VIII's sister Margaret of Scotland, and marigolds for his another sister, Mary of France, and a pomegranate bush for his wife, Katherine of Aragon, enclosed within a walled garden with tours surmounted by banners of the royal arms of England, George, and Castile, and a gateway with a lion, flanked by a red dragon and a white greyhound, and inscribed with words 'salve felix Anglia'. Image taken from f. 2 of Motets. Written in Latin.

The BL Royal Manuscript Collection, also known as the Royal Collection, consists of over 2,000 manuscripts that were once owned by the British monarchs, including English and later British kings and queens from the late 12th to the 19th centuries. These manuscripts are notable for their historical and artistic value.

The collection was initially stored in various royal libraries and palaces, such as the Tower of London and Westminster Palace. During the English Civil War in the 17th century and the subsequent Interregnum, many royal treasures, including manuscripts, were dispersed and sold. Some manuscripts were lost, destroyed, or ended up in private hands.

In 1757, King George II donated the Old Royal Library to the British Museum (which later became the British Library), where the manuscripts were integrated into the museum's collections. This marked the formal establishment of the Royal Manuscript Collection within the British Museum.