Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

In 1642, the year this portrait is dated, civil war broke out in England. Elizabeth Stuart, sister of King Charles I, had lived in Dutch exile for over 20 years by then. She and her husband Frederick V, Elector Palatine, were crowned King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619 and driven out the following winter, which is why she is remembered as the Winter Queen. Frederick had died ten years before Honthorst painted this, and she still wears mourning black, with a black ribbon tied around her arm. The pearl earrings were his gift. It was the first time she was portrayed in the open air, and the words Queen of Bohemia on the balustrade were added later. Here in the Central Hall, portraits of two of her sons, Charles Louis and Rupert, usually hang on either side of her.