The prototype for this picture was painted in circa 1637, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War which led to the King's execution in 1649, and hung in the Prince's Gallery at Hampton Court (National Gallery, London) (see S.J. Barnes, N. de Poorter, O. Millar and H. Vey, Van Dyck - A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, New Haven and London, 2004, pp. 468-71, no. IV.51). The design is a reinterpretation by Van Dyck of Titian's equestrian portrait of Charles V in the Prado, which also inspired Rubens' portraits of Philip IV and the Cardinal-Infant Ferdinand (Prado, Madrid). The prime version by Van Dyck was one of the many works sold in the Charles I sale (21 June 1650) and taken abroad. It was acquired by Sir Balthasar Gerbier and later owned by Gisbert van Ceulen, who sold it to Duke Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, in 1698. It was then looted by the Emperor Joseph I from Munich and given by him to 1st Duke of Marlborough in November 1706. The picture was then by descent until it was sold by 8th Duke of Marlborough to the National Gallery in 1885. The present copy may also have derived from the complete modello which, painted in circa 1635-6 and placed in the Chair Room at Whitehall, remained in England (Royal Collection, Windsor Castle).