The Duke of Clarence is wearing the star of the Order of the Garter. This portrait was probably painted in the early 1790s – the voluminous cravat came into fashion in 1792. Prince William (1765-1837) had joined the Royal Navy in 1779 aged 13, earning him the nickname of ‘The Sailor King’ in later life. In 1786, aged 21, he was made Captain of a 28-gun frigate under the command of Horatio Nelson who commented that ‘In his professional capacity, he is superior to two-thirds’. Prince William’s last appointment on active service in the navy ended with the return of his frigate, Andromeda, from the West Indies in April 1789. William was the third son of George III and the brother of George IV, whom he succeeded to the throne in 1830. William, called a monarch ‘of the most strict integrity’ by a contemporary, was succeeded by his niece, Queen Victoria. Edward Miles (1752-1828) was born at Yarmouth in Norfolk. He became an errand boy to a surgeon who encouraged him in drawing. In 1771, he went to London and entered the Royal Academy Schools. He was appointed Miniature Painter to the Duchess of York in 1792 and to Queen Charlotte in 1794. He was Court Painter to the Tsar in St Petersburg from 1797 to 1806. He finally settled in Philadelphia, where he became a founder member of the Academy.