The twice-widowed Maria Fitzherbert met George, Prince of Wales, in 1784 and was reluctantly persuaded to accept his offer of marriage late in 1785. As a Catholic, her marriage to the Prince of Wales was in contravention of the Act of Settlement and it was never made public. Their relationship continued until the Prince of Wales's marriage, in 1795, to Caroline of Brunswick, and again from 1796 until their final parting in 1803. She retired to Brighton where she lived quietly until her death in 1837. She remained popular with other members of the royal family long after her relationship with the Prince of Wales had ceased. It was a miniature of Mrs Fitzherbert which first brought the artist, Richard Cosway, to the attention of the Prince of Wales, who was to become his most important patron. The prince appointed Cosway his Principal Painter c. 1786 and showered him with commissions until the artist fell from favour in 1811.