[1] It depicts Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of George III and Queen Consort of Britain.

Aside from Gainsborough this included works by Johann Zoffany and later by Thomas Lawrence who produced his own Portrait of Queen Charlotte in 1789.

The work was shown at the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition of 1781 at Somerset House.

The king hung It in the dining room at Buckingham Palace and it has remained in the Royal Collection since.

[5] The commission promoted Gainsborough into royal favour at the expense of his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds.