In addition, we know that Holbein used to transfer some of his works to wood panels by means of a 16th-century equivalent of tracing paper, so it was relatively easy for others to produce copies of them. Even when producing copies, artists would usually incorporate minor variations in detail.

A section of the first working version, or "cartoon", of the Whitehall mural, by Holbein himself, is now in the National Portrait Gallery, London. It consists of the left-hand portion of the original composition, in which the King stands in front of his father, Henry VII.

The one in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, appears to have been commissioned by a courtier who wished to demonstrate his allegiance to the King. It is quite possible this was Edward Seymour, Jane’s elder brother, who became Lord Protector of England after Henry’s death, and was eventually executed for treason. Seymour is on record as having paid the princely sum of ten shillings to Holbein for a portrait of Jane, and may well have acquired the Walker copy of Henry VIII too.

A copy at Petworth House in West Sussex, ancestral home of the Percy family, has also been established as coming from Holbein’s studio. It occupies pride of place in the grand banqueting hall, and has recently been cleaned, adding a new lustre to the gold brocade of the King’s cloak, his jewels and his spotless white hose.

Holbein’s contemporary Hans Eworth is likely to have produced at least a couple of copies of his work. A portrait in Trinity College, Cambridge, has the painter’s initials "HE" in the bottom left corner. This work is known to have been commissioned by one of the college’s early Masters, Robert Beaumont, in 1567.

Eworth is also the probable artist of the copy that hangs in Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, home of the Cavendish family, Dukes of Devonshire. This painting once hung on the stairway at the London home of the fourth Earl, William Cavendish, in the late 17th century. The family also once owned the National Portrait Gallery cartoon.

Works loosely based on Holbein’s original were still being produced well into the following century. Examples can be found in:

• The Picture Gallery at Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire.
  
  
• Parham House near Pulborough, West Sussex.
  
  
• St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London. The hospital was re-established by Henry after the closure of the monasteries, and boasts a Henry VIII Gate. His portrait was donated in 1737.