Captain Cla-nce taking Command of the Ship British Constitution (caricature) RMG PW3779, Samuel William Fores, 1830

Captain cla--nce taking command of the ship british constitution (caricature) hand-coloured. One of two variant versions of a caricature on the occasion of prince william, duke of clarence, acceding to the throne as the 'sailor king' william iv in 1830 on the death of his eldest brother, george iv, and thus coming into the eye of the storm as regards the movement for parliamentary reform which culminated in the great reform act of 1832 (which he supported). William was 65 at the time with queen adelaide (on the right) being in fact half his age: they had married in 1818 when she was 25. For the other version in which he is shown as a much younger man see paf3778. [pvdm 2/15]. Date: 1830. Dimensions: Mount: 262 mm x 361 mm. Collection: Fine art.