In 1685 James Scott, the first Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch figured he had a right to the crown and tried to seize it from his uncle. The rebellion was crushed, Monmouth was imprisoned in the Tower, and sentenced to death for treason. On July 15, 1685 the executioner, Jack Ketch chopped his head and they were about to toss Monmouth’s headless body into a grave when someone realized that he was still the son of a king and they needed a portrait. So, the Tower’s doctor sewed Monmouth’s head back on and a painter made the portrait of a propped-up corpse that to this day hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.

Source: The Tower of London, National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom