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From Young and Handsome to Old and Tyrannical: History & Facial Reconstructions | Royalty Now

Published on Fri, May 24th 2024 Entertainment Rectangular HD

Welcome to Royalty Now, where we bring you face to face with figures from the past. King Henry VIII is one of the most well-known figures in English history, famous for his six wives. But he’s also known for his illustrious portraiture. Today, we’ll dive into Henry’s appearance and reveal some lifelike re-creations.

0:00 Portraits & Appearance Throughout Life
6:48 Re-creations Revealed
7:07 Young Henry
7:58 Old Henry
9:10 Comparison
9:31 Modern Henry VIII

We have one early glimpse at the face of a young Henry: this one, by Mynnart Wewyck, painted the same year as his wedding. It looks distinctly different from images of Henry later in life.

Notably, he has a weaker chin, larger eyes, and darker, curlier hair than versions painted later. Whether this is due to the absence of propaganda - Henry was not yet King and may not have had as much control over his image - or just early Tudor artists not being very skilled, is up for debate.

Six years later, in 1515, Henry assumed the throne after the death of his father, and his reign - and image - began in their full glory.

Venetian Ambassador Giustinian wrote in 1515 that Henry was “most excellent in his personal endowments, and likewise gifted with mental accomplishments," Henry could speak multiple languages, play numerous instruments, even writing his own music.

Keeping him in good shape was his love of everything sport - hunting, jousting, archery and even t ennis, with one ambassador stating that King Henry, "was the prettiest thing in the world to see play" and another stating that he was much handsomer than any other sovereign.

For much of his life, Henry wore his bright auburn hair “combed straight and short, in the French fashion”, and wore a short beard that one observer described as “looking like gold.”

His wardrobe was sumptuous, adding to his overall splendor. Henry loved clothes and hardly ever wore the same garment twice. The fabrics, dyes and jewels used to make them were internationally sourced and imported just for him. A venetian ambassador called him the “Best dressed sovereign in the world”

It’s around the 1530s that we get the most lifelike portraits of Henry, showing his small blue eyes, long, slightly hooked nose, small mouth, and round face. This portrait by Joos van Cleve is one of my favorites. Henry would be about 40 years old here.

And then, the master of portraits, Hans Holbein stepped into the picture. In 1533, he began his royal service as the court painter for the Tudors. His artwork greatly elevated portraiture from the time.

One of the most accurate, and renowned, portraits of King Henry by Holbein has been lost to history. We only know of its existence through preparatory sketches and copies made by other artists.

The massive, life size portrait, which was a family image depicting Henry, his parents, and his wife at the time, Jane Seymour, burned down with Whitehall Palace in 1698.

It’s thought that this image was the genesis of the classic, propaganda portrait of Henry VIII, where he stands tall and imposing, facing the viewer square on, in his huge cloak and obvious codpiece. In fact, Henry was never quite this tall - measurements from his suits of armor indicate that his legs were lengthened quite a bit in the portrait.

A portrait confirmed to be made directly by the hand of Hans Holbein is this version, from 1536.

This Henry - in his early 40s - is our last glimpse of England’s Renaissance Prince.

Around the time this portrait was made, Henry suffered severe injuries in a jousting accident. The King was left unconscious for multiple hours, many fearing that he wouldn’t survive.

His leg wound ulcerated and would never fully heal, for the rest of his life. Still continuing to eat and drink like he used to, with little to no activity, Henry soon gained a massive amount of weight.

By his 50s, he was almost 400 pounds. He was also nearly bald - carefully hiding his head under hats in every portrait.

After this accident, we have no more life portraits of Henry VIII. Just copies of the lost originals, churned out to the people of England as propaganda reminders of their once-beloved King.

So, let’s take a look at some re-creations of Henry, from his handsome youth, to his later years, now. For the young version, I’m using the features of the lifelike 1530s images and aging them down slightly, so we can get an image of Henry in his prime.


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