Caroline (1683–1737), Queen Consort of George II

This 1716 portrait of Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach captures one of the most intellectually formidable women in British royal history at the beginning of her English career. Caroline was a patron of science and philosophy who corresponded with Leibniz, supported the Newtonian cause against the German philosopher's claims on calculus, and exercised political influence over her husband George II through Robert Walpole. Her establishment of the Hermitage in Richmond Park and her patronage of writers, scholars, and theologians made her court a center of intellectual life in the early Hanoverian period. Kneller's portrait shows her in the year of her arrival, before the full expression of the political and cultural influence she would wield as queen.

The royal portrait presents Caroline with appropriate regal magnificence, the elaborate court dress and formal composition conveying the dignity of her position while Kneller's rendering of her features suggests the intelligence for which she was celebrated.