December 16: Henry VII

Today's treat is a portrait of the very first Tudor monarch, Henry VII, from the National Portrait Gallery's collection.

The National Portrait Gallery website explains that the inscription on the painting states that it was "painted on 29 October 1505 by order of Herman Rinck, an agent for the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I" so Henry would have been 48 years old at the time. The National Portrait Gallery goes on to explain that "The portrait was probably painted as part of an unsuccessful marriage proposal, as Henry hoped to marry Maximilian's daughter Margaret of Savoy as his second wife." Henry's wife, Elizabeth of York, had died two years earlier, on 11th February 1503, and Henry was now considering taking a second wife. He never did. He died on 21st April 1509.