Portrait of Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge | |
---|---|
Artist | William Beechey |
Year | 1818 |
Type | Oil on canvas, portrait |
Dimensions | 239.7 cm× 148.9 cm(94.4 in× 58.6 in) |
Location | Royal Collection, London |
Portrait of the Duchess of Cambridge is an 1818 full-length portrait painting by the English artist William Beechey of the German-born British royal Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge. [1] [2]
Born in 1797, Augusta was a member of the ruling family of Hesse-Kassel, a principality in the German Confederation. The work was painted the year of her marriage to Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the seventh son of George III. Following the death of the prospective future heir to the throne Princess Charlotte in 1817, several of the King's sons got married in order to secure the succession for the reigning House of Hanover. In March 1819 the couple produced a son George. Although he was born two months earlier, his cousin Victoria later took the throne as her father was an elder brother. Another slightly younger cousin George, Duke of Cumberland later succeeded to the throne of Hanover. Augusta lived for much of her life at Cambridge Cottage on Kew Green and was buried at St Anne's Church, Kew. Her granddaughter Mary of Teck married her cousin George V and the current line of the royal family therefore descends from Augusta.
The work was commissioned by her husband at the time of their marriage. Beechey was an experienced portraitist by the time he depicted Augusta, having been a member of the Royal Academy since 1793. He depicts her in fashionable Regency style. He seems to deliberately copy the manner of his rival Thomas Lawrence, who was at the height of his fame. [3] Three years later Beechey painted Augusta's husband's sister in law and niece in Victoria, Duchess of Kent with Princess Victoria . Both works are now in the Royal Collection, Augusta's painting having been acquired from the Grand Duke Paul of Russia by Mary of Teck. [4] [5]
Mary of Teck was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King-Emperor George V.
Ernest Augustus was King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his death in 1851. As the fifth son of George III of the United Kingdom and Hanover, he initially seemed unlikely to become a monarch, but none of his elder brothers had a legitimate son. When his elder brother William IV, who ruled both kingdoms, died in 1837, his niece Victoria inherited the British throne under British succession law, while Ernest succeeded in Hanover under Salic law, which barred women from the succession, thus ending the personal union between Britain and Hanover that had begun in 1714.
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, later known as the Duchess of Teck, was a member of the British royal family. She was one of the first royals to patronise a wide range of charities and was a first cousin of Queen Victoria.
Francis, Duke of Teck, known as Count Francis von Hohenstein until 1863, was an Austrian-born nobleman who married into the British royal family. His wife, Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, was a first cousin of Queen Victoria. He was the father of Queen Mary, the consort of King George V. Francis held the Austrian title of Count of Hohenstein, and the German titles of Prince (Fürst) and later Duke of Teck, and was given the style of Serene Highness in 1863. He was granted the British style of Highness in 1887.
Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge was the tenth child and seventh son of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. He held the title of Duke of Cambridge from 1801 until his death. He served as Viceroy of the Kingdom of Hanover successively on behalf of his elder brothers King George IV and King William IV.
Princess Augusta of Cambridge was a member of the British royal family, a granddaughter of George III. She married into the Grand Ducal House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and became Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
George V was the last king of Hanover, reigning from 18 November 1851 to 20 September 1866. The only child of King Ernest Augustus and Queen Frederica, he succeeded his father in 1851. George's reign was ended by the Austro-Prussian War, after which Prussia annexed Hanover.
Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel was the wife of Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the tenth-born child, and seventh son, of George III of the United Kingdom and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The longest-lived daughter-in-law of George III, she was the maternal grandmother of Mary of Teck, wife of George V.
Charlotte, Princess Royal, was Queen of Württemberg as the wife of King Frederick I. She was the eldest daughter and fourth child of George III of the United Kingdom and his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Sir William Beechey was a British portraitist during the golden age of British painting.
Duke Alexander Paul Ludwig Konstantin of Württemberg was a German nobleman. His son, Francis, Duke of Teck, was the father of Mary of Teck, queen consort to George V of the United Kingdom.
White Lodge is a Grade I listed Georgian house situated in Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Formerly a royal residence, it now houses the Royal Ballet Lower School, instructing students aged 11–16.
The Royal Burial Ground is a cemetery used by the British royal family. Consecrated on 23 October 1928 by the Bishop of Oxford, it is adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum, which was built in 1862 to house the tomb of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The burial ground lies on the Frogmore estate within the Home Park at Windsor, in the English county of Berkshire.
The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee.
St George's Chapel, formally titled The King's Free Chapel of the College of St George, Windsor Castle, at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar, and the Chapel of the Order of the Garter. St George's Chapel was founded in the 14th century by King Edward III and extensively enlarged in the late 15th century. It is located in the Lower Ward of the castle.
On 6 July 1893, Prince George, Duke of York, and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck were married at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London, England.
Since William the Conqueror claimed the English throne, succession has been determined by bequest, battle, primogeniture, and parliament.
The wedding of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took place on 10 February 1840 at Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, in London.
Olga FitzGeorge was a British socialite, businessperson, and descendant of King George III through her grandfather, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. FitzGeorge was the only daughter and child of Rear Admiral Sir Adolphus FitzGeorge and his wife Sophia Jane Holden FitzGeorge.
Victoria, Duchess of Kent with Princess Victoria is an 1821 portrait painting by the British artist William Beechey of Victoria, Duchess of Kent and her young daughter the future Queen Victoria. It was painted at Kensington Palace in London and completed the following year. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in May 1822.