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 was painted in 1827 for the Duke of Clarence at a cost of 600 guineas; it was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1829 and remained with the artist until his death in 1830. the Duke wears a dark buttoned-up tail coat with the star of the Garter; in his right hand he holds a paper, in his left hand a glove. This portrait was placed in its present position on the Grand Staircase at Buckingham Palace by Queen Victoria in 1846.