William IV (1765–1837)

This portrait of William IV depicts the sailor-king who succeeded his brother George IV in 1830 and reigned until 1837. William's long naval career before ascending the throne gave him a bluff, unpretentious character that Beechey captures in this portrait. Beechey, knighted in 1798 and portrait painter to Queen Charlotte, executed the work with his characteristic solid, dependable oil technique that documented Georgian society's ruling classes with honest directness.

The royal portrait presents the king with naval rather than courtly dignity, the uniform and decorations painted with precise attention to detail and the features rendered with naturalistic directness.