Lawrence was the most fashionable and also the greatest portraitist of his generation. He was made Principal Painter to George III in 1792 after Reynolds’s death, and received occasional commissions; however it was only after 1814 that George IV began to employ him in earnest. This portrait of Princess Charlotte relates closely to the double portrait of 1801 (RCIN 407292), except that the sitter has a chick and bird cage in her hands, rather than sheets of music. It was presumably painted for George III, whose brand appears on the reverse of the canvas, though the quality is disappointing for a royal commission.