Charles II (1630-1685)

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.