Anne Luttrell, Duchess of Cumberland

Lever bought this painting in 1920, thinking it was a portrait of Princess Augusta, daughter of George III. On a visit to the gallery in 1929, Queen Mary suggested that this could be Anne, Duchess of Cumberland. Anne looked very similar to the woman depicted here and Gainsborough painted her on several occasions. She was also painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Horace Walpole described her as 'very well made, with the most amorous eyes in the world and eyelashes a yard long'. Anne Lutterell was a commoner and a widow when she married Prince Henry, the Duke of Cumberland, in 1771. Henry was the younger brother of King George III, who did not approve of the marriage. This led to the passing of the Royal Marriages Act the following year.