The Battle of Waterloo, fought just south of Brussels on 18 June 1815, was a turning point for Europe. The engagement saw the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by an alliance of European powers led by Arthur, Duke of Wellington, and the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher. The battle cleared the way for the peace negotiations that settled a war-torn continent: the Duke of Wellington believed that Waterloo had ‘saved the world’.

The outcome of the battle was by no means a certainty – Wellington recorded that it had been a ‘close-run thing’ – and the large numbers of casualties on both sides shocked many. Almost immediately, the ground on which the battle had been fought attracted large numbers of tourists. Napoleon’s captured carriage was brought to London where it was displayed to fascinated crowds. The Prince Regent (later George IV) eagerly celebrated the victory, collecting prints, drawings and works of art relating to the battle and, most impressively, creating the grand Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle in honour of this most important of military victories.