'Chantrey, I have reason to be obliged to you, for you have immortalised me.' So declared George IV (1762-1830) on first seeing the full-size plaster model for this colossal portrait when it was brought from London to Windsor in 1827. The model had been made for the purpose of casting bronze statues for Brighthon and Edinburgh, but the King now asked Chantrey for a version carved in marble. It was not until 1836, six years after the King's death, that the statue was ready to be installed at Windsor.

The King is show as Sovereign of the Order of the Garter, and the pose resembles that of Sir Thomas Lawrence's state portrait. Both derive from the French Baroque tradition exemplified in portraits of Louis XIV.

At the time the statue was first installed, the lowest flight of the Grand Stairs rose directly towards it, so that no visitor was left in doubt as to who had been responsible for the recent restoration of the Castle.