Princess Mary (1776-1857) was the fourth daughter of George III and Queen Charlotte. In 1816, she married her cousin William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester (1776-1834). When she died in 1857, Queen Victoria wrote: ‘Her age, and her being a link with bygone times and generations … rendered her more and more dear and precious to us all, and we all looked upon her as a sort of grandmother.’

This is a more finished copy of another miniature of Princess Mary by Richard Cosway (RCIN 420647). It is thought that the artist is Anne Mee (1780/5-1851), the daughter of the artist John Foldsone. She was educated in London and was a protégée and pupil of the portrait painter George Romney. Lady Courtown introduced her to Queen Charlotte, and Charlotte Papendiek, journalist and assistant keeper of the wardrobe to Queen Charlotte, described Anne Mee drawing the queen and princesses at Windsor in 1790. Mee visited frequently after that date. Her portraits are often characterised by large eyes, and by 1804 she was able to ask as much as 40 guineas for a miniature. 

The miniature is inscribed on the vellum reverse in ink: Princess / Mary Duchess / of Gloucester, and engraved on a ribbon cartouche (scroll) at the base of the frame: DUCHESS OF GLOUCESTER.