William, Duke of Cumberland
By SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS.
Full-Length.
(In the Robes of the Garter. Standing by a Table. River, Bridge, and Castle in the Background.)
Born, 1721. Died, 1765.—The third son of George II., King of England, by Carolina Wilhelmina, daughter of the Margrave of Anspach. In 1743, he was wounded by the side of his father, at the Battle of Dettingen; he was unsuccessful at Fontenoy. His name is ever coupled with the discomfiture of Charles Edward’s forces in Scotland, and their entire defeat, at the Battle of Culloden. He gained a name for severity, and cruelty, during this campaign, and is still remembered in the north as “Billy the Butcher.”
This fine portrait was presented by H.R.H., to John, fourth Earl of Sandwich, with whom he formed a friendship, at the time of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.