Richard Cosway is the artist who captured the essence of George IV’s flamboyant years before he became King. It was Cosway’s success in depicting George IV’s (illegal) wife, Maria Fitzherbert, in miniature that led to his appointment as Principal Painter to the Prince of Wales in 1785. George IV is here shown wearing the uniform of the 10th Light Dragoons, a regiment of which he was immensely proud to be Colonel-Commandant, from 1793 until 1820. He found the uniform particularly attractive.