Studio of Anthony van Dyck, 'Prince Charles Louis, Count Palatine', about 1637

The portraits of these two princes are often displayed in the National Gallery on either side of one of their mother, Elizabeth Stuart, who was sister of King Charles I of England. The three pictures may well have been shown together in this way since the seventeenth century and are a testament to the importance of continuity of power to a royal dynasty. Elizabeth was married to Frederick V, Elector Palatine; in 1619, they were also crowned King and Queen of Bohemia. After dynastic squabbles involving almost the whole of Europe, they were deposed in 1620 and went into exile in The Hague. Elizabeth became known as the ‘Winter Queen’ as her reign lasted only through the winter months – a romantic title that bore little resemblance to her situation.

Although reasonably comfortable in her new Dutch home, Elizabeth felt humiliated at her change of status – a deposed monarch with 13 children, and dependent on royal relatives for their upkeep. She fought tirelessly to have her husband restored to his throne, seeking support widely but particularly from her brother in England. When Frederick died in 1632 Elizabeth was devastated, but her desire for the restitution of what she saw as the family’s rights remained strong. She sent her three eldest sons to the court of Charles I, to strengthen the family ties and to gain support for their cause.

Her eldest surviving son, the heir to the Bohemian throne and the Electoral Palatinate, was Charles Louis. Her second son was Rupert, known as Prince Rupert of the Rhine. It was while they were in England that their portraits were painted, though by studio assistants and not by Van Dyck himself. The paintings were intended to show the pair’s status and to emphasise their relationship to the king and their cousins, including the future Charles II: they were Stuarts and therefore royal. But the English Civil War (1642–51) interrupted their plans. Royalists and Parliamentarians were in conflict about how England should be governed. While Rupert fought for the King, Charles Louis was sympathetic to the Parliamentary cause, although he didn't join their army. He returned to Europe where he was eventually restored to the Palatinate and created Duke of Bavaria.

Rupert lost the battle for the city of Bristol during the war and was banished, but Charles II welcomed him back after his restoration to the throne in 1660, and gave him an important position in the Royal Navy. The whereabouts of the two portraits at that time are not known. They may have stayed in London, but they may have gone to Elizabeth, who was still at The Hague, where by this time her portrait had been painted by Honthorst.

Early in her exile, Elizabeth had been befriended by William, 1st Baron Craven, who had fought for Frederick. A staunch Royalist, he was unable to fight in the Civil War but supported Charles I generously with money. His estates were forfeit during the Interregnum (when England was ruled by Parliament without a king) but restored to him at the Restoration. He was deeply in love with Elizabeth and brought her to London to his house in Drury Lane; it’s thought she was about to marry him when she died. The portrait of Elizabeth went to Prince Rupert after her death, and Rupert bequeathed his own to William Craven. As William never married, his title passed to his brother, and the images intended as a testament to the importance of the Stuart dynasty became a testament to a long past story of love and fidelity. They stayed in the Craven family for generations, but were bequeathed to the National Gallery by Cornelia, Lady Craven in 1962.