Historic Portrait of Henry VIII Rediscovered After Centuries
The Royal Family, known for keeping its precious and historic artefacts under high security, recently made a surprising discovery: a rare and significant portrait of England’s monarch Henry VIII, believed lost since 1781.
Despite their stringent security measures, the portrait was thought to be missing until historian and Sotheby’s auction house consultant Adam Busiakiewicz discovered it online through a social media post. Busiakiewicz took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share his findings, writing, “Strange discoveries can happen at any moment, it appears,” in a blog linked to his post.
He explained that the painting he identified is by Warwickshire painter Ralph Sheldon, who was commissioned in the 1590s to create 22 portraits of “Kings, Queens, and international figures.” To verify the portrait's authenticity, Busiakiewicz noted that the painting has "the same arched top and is framed in a corresponding frame as other surviving examples."
He added, “Furthermore, an engraving of the Weston House frieze shows the very same composition for Henry as found in the Warwick painting.”
Busiakiewicz remarked that many of these works are believed to have been “dispersed in 1781,” highlighting the significance of this unexpected discovery.
