A RARE portrait of Henry VIII which had been hung on an Oxfordshire wall for about 300 years has gone on sale.

The Ditchley Henry VIII, right, named after the country house in West Oxfordshire which housed it, was sold to a European collector on Friday.

It went on show at an art fair in Holland for nine days where it was up for sale for £2.5m but the selling price has not been disclosed. It measures 7ft by 5ft and is one of only eight known surviving full-length depictions of Henry VIII.

The portrait was commissioned by Sir Henry Lee, a Tudor courtier, for his Oxfordshire country house, and its painter was Marcus Gheerraerts the Younger.

Sir Henry also commissioned a portrait of Elizabeth I which currently hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

A descendant of Sir Henry sold it to Lord Brockett in 1933. It was again sold at Sotherby’s in 1952 and it had not been seen by the public again until this week.

Ditchley, near Charlbury, was built in 1722 and is now owned by the Ditchley Foundation.