This is one of only two known miniatures by Wenceslaus Hollar, an artist better known for his prolific topographical etchings. Hollar came from Prague and was first brought over to England in 1636 whilst in the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, who had employed Hollar to record the places he had visited during his diplomatic mission to the Emperor Ferdinand II in Prague. Hollar left England at the onset of the Civil War, but returned again in 1652, the year in which he painted the present miniature. The miniature was first recorded in Queen Caroline's Closet at Kensington Palace by George Vertue in 1743. Vertue rightly recognised the subject as Katherine of Aragon, first wife of Henry VIII. Hollar must have copied her portrait from one of the miniatures of the queen attributed to Lucas Horenbout, such as the example now in the Buccleuch collection. As one of only two works in this genre by the artist, it adds another element to the already broad gamut of Hollar's output and shows him extending his range at a time when, without Arundel's patronage to support him any longer, he was forced to earn his living primarily through book illustration.