Edward, Duke of York (1739-67)

Edward, Duke of York, painted in 1764, depicts the younger brother of George III who died of malaria in Monaco in 1767 at only twenty-eight, foreclosing a potentially significant royal career. As a younger son of George II and younger brother of the King, Edward's position in the Georgian court was one of reflected royal glory without the full weight of dynastic responsibility. His early death gave his portraits retrospective documentary importance as records of a prince whose promise was cut short. Dance painted Edward during his Italian years, when the Duke was presumably part of the British royal family's extended network of diplomatic and cultural relationships in Italy.

The royal portrait demands a higher degree of formal magnificence than Dance's usual commissions, with the Duke's costume and bearing conveying the dignity expected of a prince of the blood royal.