Hidden within this beautifully chased gold bracelet frame is a well-preserved portrait of William Frederick, 2nd Duke of Gloucester. Wearing his field marshal’s uniform of a scarlet coat with an embroidered standing collar, he is decorated with the blue riband and breast star of the Order of the Garter.Painted by Charlotte Jones, the portrait resides in the original octagonal clasped bracelet frame with a hinged lid, all finely engraved with a scrolling motif. A close copy of this portrait painted by Henry Bone in 1844 in enamel ‘after a miniature’ is held in the Royal Collection. The original, set in a bracelet, is thought to have been bequeathed to Queen Victoria but is no longer in the Royal Collection.Born in Rome in 1776, William Frederick was the son of the 1st Duke of Gloucester and his wife Maria Countess of Waldegrave. He was also the nephew of King George II. He graduated from the University of Cambridge and joined the army in 1789 with a captain’s commission becoming...