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Lot Essay
Princess Amelia (1783-1810) was the youngest of George III and Queen Charlotte's fifteen children. George III's first bout of illness began in 1788, followed by two more in 1801 and 1804, casting a long shadow over the lives of his six daughters, most of whom were forbidden from marrying, in order to keep them close to the king and queen. Princess Amelia wished to marry The Hon. Charles FitzRoy, an equerry 21 years her senior, but was banned from doing so by the Royal Marriages Act of 1772. She suffered from an attack of measles in 1808, from which she never fully recovered, finally dying in Weymouth on 2 November 1810. The effect of her death on George III is said to have triggered his final bout of illness, from which he never recovered.
The present work derives from a miniature painted by Robertson in 1807 when he visited Windsor to paint Queen Charlotte and the royal princesses. In his diary for 27 February he explains why Amelia appears in her outdoor clothes: 'Princess Amelia sat, lovely creature, fine features, melting eye, charming figure, elegant, dignified, finest hair imaginable - sits in her hat, cap, etc. however, because the Duke of Sussex likes the dress - none of her fine hair seen. She is quite indifferent about her looks. She cannot be unconscious about her beauty, but no one ever thought less of it, or more careless of embellishment, further than her own comfort and respect for society requires'. Shortly before Princess Amelia died at the end of 1810, George III recalled Robertson to Windsor to make replicas of the 1807 portrait for members of the family. In a similar tradition, the Prince Regent, in 1811, commissioned the enamel painter Henry Bone to make replicas of the 1807 portrait. A rectangular version by Andrew Robertson, signed and dated 1810 and an oval version, signed and dated 1811 are in the Royal Collection, see R. Walker, Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 18th and early 19th Centuries, Cambridge, 1992, pp. 392-393, nos. 901 and 902, respectively. A further oval example, formerly in the collection of the Duchess of Cumberland is illustrated in J. de Bourgoing, English Miniatures, London, 1928, p. 67. Two further rectangular versions, signed and dated 1810 are recorded: one sold Sotheby's, London, 28 February 1991, lot 383, the other, probably from the Collection of the Duke of Cambridge, sold Christie's, London, 10 June 1904, lot 302, originally from White Lodge, Richmond Park, is now in a Continental Private Collection.
The present work derives from a miniature painted by Robertson in 1807 when he visited Windsor to paint Queen Charlotte and the royal princesses. In his diary for 27 February he explains why Amelia appears in her outdoor clothes: 'Princess Amelia sat, lovely creature, fine features, melting eye, charming figure, elegant, dignified, finest hair imaginable - sits in her hat, cap, etc. however, because the Duke of Sussex likes the dress - none of her fine hair seen. She is quite indifferent about her looks. She cannot be unconscious about her beauty, but no one ever thought less of it, or more careless of embellishment, further than her own comfort and respect for society requires'. Shortly before Princess Amelia died at the end of 1810, George III recalled Robertson to Windsor to make replicas of the 1807 portrait for members of the family. In a similar tradition, the Prince Regent, in 1811, commissioned the enamel painter Henry Bone to make replicas of the 1807 portrait. A rectangular version by Andrew Robertson, signed and dated 1810 and an oval version, signed and dated 1811 are in the Royal Collection, see R. Walker, Miniatures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 18th and early 19th Centuries, Cambridge, 1992, pp. 392-393, nos. 901 and 902, respectively. A further oval example, formerly in the collection of the Duchess of Cumberland is illustrated in J. de Bourgoing, English Miniatures, London, 1928, p. 67. Two further rectangular versions, signed and dated 1810 are recorded: one sold Sotheby's, London, 28 February 1991, lot 383, the other, probably from the Collection of the Duke of Cambridge, sold Christie's, London, 10 June 1904, lot 302, originally from White Lodge, Richmond Park, is now in a Continental Private Collection.