George first commissioned the renowned artist Sir Thomas Lawrence to create a series of portraits of those who defeated Napoleon in 1814, at the time of the French emperor’s exile to Elba. In the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, the cycle was expanded to include the military heroes, statesmen and rulers involved in the negotiations of the Congress of Vienna, which redefined Europe and championed diplomacy over warfare. Lawrence’s spectacular series of 28 full- and half-length images were his supreme achievement.

They were eventually hung after the deaths of both patron and artist, in a newly created gallery at Windsor Castle, known as the Waterloo Chamber.