Bridget Holmes, shown in this full-length portrait by John Riley at the reputed age of 96, was James II’s ‘Necessary Woman’. This role gave her responsibility for cleaning and preparing the royal bedchamber, polishing and dusting furniture, laying fires, mopping, sweeping and the clearing of chamber pots. Holmes is known to have been rewarded generously by the king, as in 1685 she earned a salary of £60, roughly twice the annual income of a skilled tradesman. While she is depicted in plain servant’s dress with her sleeves rolled up, brandishing a broom, the full-length format and composition of this portrait is reminiscent of formal baroque portraiture, perhaps denoting recognition of the sitter’s important contribution to the smooth running of the royal household.