Rediscovering Prince Henry, England’s Lost Prince

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales

The National Portrait Gallery will stage an exhibition highlighting the life of Henry Frederick, prince of Wales, the forgotten but handsome, sporty, and highly Protestant son of King James I. He died of typhoid in 1612 at 18. Had he lived to inherit the throne, he would have been Henry IX.

The National Portrait Gallery will attempt to collect paintings, miniature pieces, manuscripts and even the remains of the lost prince’s funeral effigy which has been kept from public eyes for the past two centuries.

Historians describe Henry as highly cultured, brave, and everything that the future of England was thought of during his time. His funeral was told to have attracted more crowds than Queen Elizabeth’s nine years earlier.

Prince Henry's funeral effigy, kept hidden from public the last 200 years