London, UK - A rare and prophetic 1494 da Vinci pen-and-ink drawing of a snarling Prince Philip is to go on display at the Queen’s Gallery, Palace sources announced today.
‘Five Grotesque Heads’ - verso ‘A Man Tricked By Gypsies’ - depicts nonagenarian old bluffer Philip bon Battenberg surrounded by pals from the Hellfire Club following a raucous night of drinking absinthe.
It catches Philip sporting an old regimental bandana and some dodgy NHS-issue chompers, his signature trademark since 1849.
Da Vinci is thought to have penned the 261 x 206 cm study while researching the roots of evil in royal families following an ergot epidemic on the Isle of Wight.
Curators say the drawing was discovered recently behind a Windsor Castle Library tapestry along with some ancient leg irons and a firkin of port.
