King Charles II

1 portrait of King Charles II

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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King Charles II

studio of John Riley
oil on canvas, circa 1680-1685
28 1/2 in. x 22 3/4 in. (724 mm x 578 mm)
Purchased, 1951
Primary Collection
NPG 3798

Sitterback to top

  • King Charles II (1630-1685), Reigned 1660-85. Sitter associated with 295 portraits.

Artistback to top

  • John Riley (1646-1691), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 101 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

This portraitback to top

Charles II is reported to have reacted to his portrait by Riley by exclaiming: ‘Is this like me? Then odds fish I’m an ugly fellow.’

Linked publicationsback to top

  • Smartify image discovery app
  • Ollard, Richard, Character Sketches: Samuel Pepys and His Circle, 2000, p. 28
  • Piper, David, Catalogue of Seventeenth Century Portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, 1625-1714, 1963, p. 68
  • Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 117

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Events of 1680back to top

Current affairs

William Howard, Viscount Stafford, is convicted of impeachment and beheaded on account of his alleged involvement in the Popish Plot.
Whigs' sponsorship of a pope-burning procession, for the second consecutive year, supports their campaign to exclude James, Duke of York from the throne.

Art and science

Writer, John Bunyan, publishes, The Life and Death of Mr. Badman. Novelistic in form and conceived as a dialogue between two gentlemen, the book was intended as a sequel to the first part of The Pilgrim's Progress.

International

Revelations surface of a Catholic uprising in Ireland with French support. The government launches an inquiry, ultimately leading to the execution of Oliver Plunket, Archbishop of Armagh.
Secretary of State, Robert Spencer, in adopting an anti-French foreign policy, forges a defensive Anglo-Spanish treaty while seeking an alliance with the Dutch.

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