Princes in armor looking ready to melt. . .an unidentified commoner with pretensions, too . .

Charles II of Great Britain as Prince of Wales (detail). 1641.
Charles II of Great Britain as Prince of Wales (detail). 1641. Anthony Van Dyke, painter. Image © Sothebys, here. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/two-rare-royal-van-dyck-portraits-lead-london-old-masters-sale. via https://adamfineart.wordpress.com/2018/12/04/armour-for-boys-van-dyck-the-prince-of-wales/.
Boy dressed in armor. 18th c. French.
Boy dressed in armor. 18th c. French. Oil on canvas. Artist not known. via http://www.kevinstoneantiques.com/product/18th-century-oil-canvas-french-boy-armor/.
Infante Balthasar Carlos of Spain. ca. 1639 and 1645.
Infante Balthasar Carlos of Spain. ca. 1639 and 1645. Oil on canvas. Attributed to Juan Bautista del Mazo. Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prins_Balthasar_Carlos_(1629-46)._Zoon_van_de_Spaanse_koning_Philips_IV_op_ongeveer_elfjarige_leeftijd_Rij.

All artwork in the public domain in the United States because the artists have been dead over 70 years.

Many more portraits of Charles II as a child in armor, too. Let us hope they weren’t all painted in the summer. I would assume that standing there for hours encased in steel wasn’t the best part of being Prince of Wales . .

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