Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach

This portraitback to top

A copy by a hand not far from Charles Philips of the portrait by Kneller, signed and dated 1716, showing the sitter as Princess of Wales. The original is now in Buckingham Palace (Sir Oliver Millar, The Tudor Stuart and Early Georgian Pictures in the collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1963, 345). NPG 529 closely follows the three-quarter-length engraving by J. Faber junior, even in the misplacement of the cross on the crown, suggesting it was worked up from it. The engraving was re-issued when the sitter became Queen (J. Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotinto Portraits, 1878-83, 62). A life-size version, with the head very near to Kneller, was with the Leger Galleries in 1935 as by Vanderbank, apparently from the Byron collection, Newstead Abbey. It was bought for Robert E. Lee's house in Virginia, USA. Miniatures are at Ickworth [1] and in the National Museum, Stockholm, as by Zincke after Kneller.

Footnotesback to top

1) E. Farrer, Portraits in Suffolk Houses (West), 1908, p 200.

Physical descriptionback to top

Dark eyes, pale eyebrows, narrow nose, blonde hair, centre-parted, to below shoulders; scarlet robes of state over gold-brocaded grey skirt, looped pearls on shoulders, black diamond clasps down front of bodice; a column, right, and left, a table with single arched crown of the Princess of Wales on which she rests her right hand; black and white tiled floor, a window behind, with trees and pink sky beyond.

Conservationback to top

Surface cleaned three times and varnished twice between 1895 and 1900; examination in 1968 revealed the face and chest badly worn; cleaned, relined and damages below the crown, in the left sleeve and the floor, repaired, 1968.

Provenanceback to top

Transferred, 1879, from the British Museum, to whom presented, as by Jervas, by 'Lieut General Thornton', i.e. either William Thornton, promoted Lt-Gen. 1809 (d. 1841) or Sir William Thornton, Lt-Gen. 1838 (d. 1840); probably the former.

Reproductionsback to top

The original engraved, with variations, by a number of hands (F. O'Donoghue and Sir Henry M. Hake, Catalogue of Engraved British Portraits ... in the British Museum, 1908-25, 8-17) including J. Simon, J. Smith and by J. Faber junior.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Kerslake, Early Georgian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1977, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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