Prince William, Duke of Gloucester

Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (1776-1834) was a great-grandson of King George II and the son-in-law of King George III. His parents were Prince William Henry and Maria Walpole. He married his first cousin Princess Mary, the fourth daughter of George III in 1816. The couple had no children.

Prince William is shown here wearing the uniform of a Field Marshal under ceremonial robes and with the star of the Royal Guelphic Order. The portrait is based on a large-scale oil portrait by William Beechey painted during the 1810s. It is signed ‘T. Richmond Junr’ on the reverse with provenance initialled GR (for George Richmond) and dated 1820. The portrait resides in the original papier-mâché frame with convex glass and a traditional acorn hanger.

Born in 1802, Thomas Jnr was the eldest son of Thomas Richmond Snr and the brother of George Richmond, both also miniaturists. He entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1820 aged 18, the year that this miniature was painted. He went on to exhibit at the Royal Academy between 1822 and 1860.

APHA Reg.: TTP3BCN9