William IV (1765-1837)

Wilkie's portrait of William IV of 1832, painted the year before the king's death, depicts the Sailor King in the later years of his reign during which he had presided over the Great Reform Act — the most significant expansion of the British franchise since the Glorious Revolution. William had reluctantly supported reform after initially opposing it, his constitutional duties overriding his personal conservatism. Wilkie captured him with the direct, unpretentious bearing that distinguished William from his brother George IV's theatrical self-presentation.

Wilkie renders the elderly king with dignified restraint and the broader, more painterly technique of his mature period. The naval references in the setting and the king's commanding pose reflect William's identity as a former naval officer.