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Detail from showing paintings hanging on the wall of Buckingham House
Royal Portraiture

The Royal Collection holds royal portraits from visual works to decorative arts

JOHN MICHAEL WRIGHT (1617-94)

Charles II (1630-1685)

c.1676

RCIN 404951

Following the restoration of the monarchy and Charles II's (r.1660–85) accession to the throne, no state portrait was immediately commissioned. It wasn't until the 1670s that Michael Wright (1617–94) painted this extraordinary portrait of the King. While it was not painted at the time of his coronation in 1661, it depicts the King enthroned, wearing the St Edward’s crown and dressed in parliamentary robes, and presents Charles II as a confident and powerful ruler.


    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.