Detail from a portrait of William Prince of Orange

Engraved Royal Portraits

A unique collection of over 22,000 prints of royal sitters

GERMAN

[Execution of Charles I]

c.1649

RCIN 601938

Some prints record a historic event alongside a sitter’s likeness. This engraving of Charles I (r.1625–49) doesn’t just show us the face of the King but also the scene of his beheading at Whitehall in 1649. The news of the execution of the King spread quickly throughout Europe, through prints such as this one. This German print shows the scene with onlookers watching from the rooftops as the King’s head is held aloft; one woman in the crowd has even fainted.

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