The ugliest royal portraits in history

[Still Waters]

The tradition of painting kings, queens, emperors, as well as their family and relatives, goes right back to the very beginnings of civilization. Art has been in the service of rulers for as long as history remembers, since ancient realms of Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia.

While art flourished due to the sponsorship of various figures of power, the will of monarchs often left little space for innovation and limited the artist’s imagination within strict norms and already established standards.

It was not uncommon for powerful figures to demand that their portrait showed them in the most flattering way — on the other hand, sometimes the artists’ hand produced, shall we say, awkward results. Portraits that were not so flattering in terms of ruler’s appearance, often presenting physical flaws, sometimes managed to slip through and pass as suitable.

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/04/19/royals-through-history/

[Vorg]

Emperor Leopold I looks the same in two different portraits, so that must be his true image.

[Wistman]

Francisco Goya, in his portraits of the Spanish Royal family, was notable at the art of indirect mockery, showing the imbecilic and corrupt Royals of the time (whom he loathed but who were his employers) quite accurately, but dressing them sumptuously in gorgeous settings, using all his considerable skills of design and painterly brush wizardry to confuse them with glamorous trappings, but portraying them brutally, acutely, incisively...warts and all.  It seems they never caught on, dazzled by his virtuosity.  

  The Queen (from a large state group portrait)

  A royal cousin among others

[+susieice]

It's estimated that Henry VIII probably weighed about 28 stone (392 lbs) at the time of his death. His face would have been very puffy if that was the case.

[Piney]

Ferdinand II was a brutal beast who condoned murder and burnt books. His daughter Joanna was a great humanitarian who was only portrayed as "Mad" because of Catholic propaganda. 

[Piney]

55 minutes ago, susieice said:

It's estimated that Henry VIII probably weighed about 28 stone (392 lbs) at the time of his death. His face would have been very puffy if that was the case.

He was reported to be handsome in his youth and Queen Bess's earlier portraits show she was pretty. Queen Bess did go through a enormous amount of stress during her life and rule. At least she didn't wind up looking like Bloody Mary. 

['Walt' E. Kurtz]

And then we have the ugly dutchess painted by the flemish painter Quinten Matsys in 1513

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_Duchess