Portrait of Elizabeth Stuart by Michiel van Mierevelt

Elizabeth was born Elizabeth of Scotland, and became Elizabeth of Bohemia following her husband’s coronation. A short-lived queen, as her husband, Frederick V, remained in power for only a year, Elizabeth was forced to go into exile with him in 1621 to the Netherlands, where she remained for forty years.

Despite this unremarkable reign, Elizabeth of Bohemia left her mark on Europe through her descendants. She was, in fact, the ancestor of the great European dynasties, both Protestant and Catholic: she was the grandmother of Elisabeth Charlotte of Bavaria, wife of Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans—known as ‘Monsieur, the King’s only brother’—and brother of Louis XIV of France; she herself was the mother of Philippe, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France from 1715 to 1723, and of Elisabeth Charlotte of Orléans, the mother of Emperor Francis I of the Holy Roman Empire, from whom all the present-day Habsburg-Lothringens are descended.

This portrait has been compared to those painted by Gerrit – or Gerard – Hermansz van Honthorst, also known, in French and Italian, as Gérard de la Nuit (Gherardo della Notte). Ashdown House (Berkshire) does indeed hold a portrait of Elizabeth Stuart painted by Gerrit van Honthorst which bears some similarities. However, a comparison with the portrait painted by Michiel Janszoon Van Mierevelt (1567–1641), currently held at the Château de Chantilly, seems far more convincing from a stylistic point of view. David Mandrella confirms that the Aulteribe painting is certainly by Mierevelt. The original is not currently known, but there are numerous copies, notably one dated 1629 in Edinburgh (National Portrait Gallery, inv. 1053).