Sold...portrait of an Officer Said to Be Prince Rupert; English School C. 1665

Oil on canvas in 19th c. frame.

Thought to be Prince Rupert, the sitter looks confidently at the viewer; he wears armour and holds a baton...the symbol of high military rank.

PRINCE RUPERT, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1619 -1682)

Born in Prague, his mother was Elizabeth Stuart of England; whilst still a baby, his father, Frederick V, lost his crown in the Battle of the White Mountain against the Habsburg Emperor. Defeated, the royal family was given eight hours to flee Prague.

Thus began a life of exile and adventure; virtually penniless, at the age of twelve Rupert became a soldier. After fighting across Europe in the Thirty Years War he made his way to England, where he joined his uncle Charles l, at the outbreak of the Civil War.

For the next four years he was the king's most famous general. An imposing presence on the battlefield - he was six feet four inches tall - the prince was feared, hated and respected by his enemies in equal measure.

After the king's downfall in 1646 Rupert was banished from Britain. Still only 26 years old, he kept the Royalist cause alive with a handful of ships, and for a time lived as a pirate prince in the Caribbean.

After the Restoration of 1660 he returned to England to lead Charles ll's navy against the Dutch.

He was First Lord of the Admiralty from 1673-79.

In addition to his military life he was a

talented artist, scientist, inventor and classical scholar.He died on 29 November 1682 at his house at Spring Gardens near the Palace of Whitehall, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Prince Rupert was Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness in the English peerage. He never married, but left two illegitimate children. His sister, Sophia, was the mother of George I, the first Hanoverian King of Britain.

SIZE: 37 x 30 inches inc. frame

30 x 25 inches canvas size

CONDITION: relined; some retouching to background; some retouching to the sitter; a small area of varnish discolouration on the breastplate; small dent to the canvas upper right; canvas size increased at top and bottom. All acceptable on a painting of this age. Frame has damages.

PROVENANCE: Private Collection, Derbyshire.