Why did Robert Walpole get painted with a crown on his right side?

score:27

Accepted answer

The painting shows Robert Walpole in his full regalia as First Earl of Orford. The "crown" is not, in fact technically a crown, but rather a coronet, which forms part of that regalia.

The Wikipedia article includes a series of images depicting the coronets for various British coronet rankings. I have reproduced the image of an Earl's coronet below:

Earl's coronet (Click to enlarge)


The portraits of King George I and King George II that you have added for comparison also show them with their royal regalia, including their crowns, orb, and sceptre.

More post

Search Posts

Related post