King Charles is depicted here with his lace collar falling over the ribbon of the Garter. This portrait is based on Sir Antony van Dyck's images of Charles I. The direct source for this painting is probably a line engraving by William Faithorne on the title page of Hamon L'Estrange's History of King Charles (1654), but other similar prints were readily available.

Charles (1600-49) became King of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1625. Three months later he married Henrietta Maria of France. His conflicts with Parliament led to the Civil War and his eventual execution on 30 January 1649, outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London. Lucy Hutchinson, a contemporary observer, noted his interest in the arts and collecting, 'King Charles was temperate, chaste and clever. Men of learning and ingenuity in all arts were in esteem and received encouragement from the King who was a most excellent judge and a great lover of paintings, carvings, engravings and many other ingenuities'.

The miniature is attributed to the artist Freiherr (Baron) Johann Heinrich von Hurter (1734-99). He was born in Schaffhausen in Switzerland, settled in London about 1777 and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1779 to 1781. He founded a factory for mathematical and other instruments and in later life split his time between London and Germany.