Secrets of the Impossible Tudor Portrait

From History Calling

What are the HIDDEN MEANINGS in this impossible Tudor portrait, entitled An Allegory of the Tudor Succession: The Family of Henry VIII? Why does it show four of the five Tudor monarchs (Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I), plus Mary’s husband, Philip II of Spain, even though in reality the five never met at the same time and their ages and clothing as shown in the picture are mostly incompatible with true history? In this art history documentary from History Calling I set about decoding the secrets of this impossible picture. Why are the Tudors positioned in this way, with Henry in the centre, even though Elizabeth was on the throne at the time it was painted? Why is the then Queen on his left, at the far side of the picture, arguably the place of least honour? Why is Edward still a young child here, instead of the boy of fifteen he was when he died? Why are none of Henry VIII’s wives present? Who are the classical figures standing to the left and right of the image? What do they represent, what is the significance of the sword Henry VIII is passing to Edward VI and what does the inscription around the picture’s border mean? I’ll also look at a near copy of the picture. The original was painted in 1572 supposedly by Lucus de Heere and now hangs at Sudeley Castle, having originally been a gift from Elizabeth I to Sir Francis Walsingham. The copy was painted by an anonymous artist in c. 1590 and now hangs on the wall of the Yale Centre for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. How do they compare to each other and to other famous Tudor portraits including the Family of Henry VIII which is held at Hampton Court Palace? I’ll discuss the vandalism to the copy too and how it has been conserved over the years.