Portrait of a Lady (said to be Princess Mary, 1631–1660, Princess of Orange, Daughter of Charles I)

This portrait said to represent Princess Mary (1631–1660), Princess of Orange, daughter of Charles I, belongs to Honthorst's sustained output of portraits for the Stuart royal family and their extended circle. Princess Mary was married at age nine to William II of Orange in 1641 — a political alliance of major importance for the Protestant cause — and Honthorst, as court painter at The Hague, would naturally have produced her portrait. The identification as Princess Mary is qualified in the title ('said to be'), reflecting the challenges of attributing portraits from this period when many unidentified female sitters have been retrospectively identified with famous names. The painting is at Chequers, the British Prime Minister's country residence, where it forms part of a collection of historic English portraits with strong Stuart and Civil War associations.

Oil on canvas. The court portrait format presents the sitter half-length in fashionable dress. Honthorst's handling of the face emphasises a youthful quality — smooth skin, soft features — consistent with a portrait of a young woman. The dress and jewellery are rendered in his careful, technically accomplished manner.