A bodycolour painting showing a view of Windsor town and castle. Cattle are shown grazing in the foreground, with the River Thames to the left and the town and castle behind.
Inscribed on verso: His Royal Highness Prince Ernest Augustus. December 8.^th 1780. Aged 9 years & a half. a View of Windsor Town & Castle.

All of George III’s children were taught to draw from an early age by a number of prominent artists including Paul Sandby (1731 – 1809) and Alexander Cozens (1717 – 86).

This vibrant view of Windsor Castle was painted on 8 December 1780 by Prince Ernest (later Duke of Cumberland and King of Hanover), the fifth son of George III and Queen Charlotte. It is likely that it was the result of a collaboration between the young prince and his drawing master, the artist John Alexander Gresse (1740 – 94), who tutored the royal children from 1778 to 1793. For this landscape it is probable that Gresse prepared an outline drawing as a basis for the prince's bodycolour painting, doubtless created with a good deal of help from their master.