Portrait of a young Prince, probably Charles II, Prince of Wales (1630-1685), standing three quarter length before a curtain, wearing armour, lace collar and the Vatican Order of Christ, holding a bâton in his right hand, his left arm leaning on a

The identification of the sitter is based on comparison with the portraits of Charles II as a young boy by Sir Anthony van Dyck, showing similar facial features, in the collection of Sir Hereward Wake, England and in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen of England (E. Larssen, The Paintings of Anthony van Dyck, 1988, II, pp.316/7, no800 & 802, ill.).
The prince is usually portrayed wearing the Order of the Garter. No other portraits are known in which he wears the Vatican Order of Christ. Being Protestant by birth, this Order could probably be explained by the fact that he may be depicted here as the son of a Catholic Queen. His mother, Henrietta Maria (1609-1669) is known to have fought for the rights of the English Catholics throughout her reign, going against the strong opposition from the Parliament (see the note to lot 22). After her husband, Charles I, King of England, was beheaded in 1649, she and her children lived in exile until the crowning of her eldest son as Charles II in 1660. Charles II continued the plea for indulgence towards the Catholics, as his father had done before him. His strong Catholic sympathies are beyond any doubt and although no satisfactory evidence exists that he has ever actually entered the Church of Rome, it may thus account for the Order he is wearing in the present picture.