Portrait of Willem IV (1711-1751), Prince of Orange-Nassau

In 1747 French armies crossed into the Dutch Republic, and in the alarm that followed the provinces turned to the House of Orange. Willem IV became the first stadholder of all seven provinces at once, and the office was made hereditary. Here the French portraitist Joseph Aved shows him as Captain-General and Admiral-General, head of the army and the navy. He stands in armour beside a cannon and a helmet, wearing the insignia of the English Order of the Garter. His wife was Anne, daughter of King George II of Britain. Behind him lies a coast where small boats carry supplies out to the ships. Aved signed and dated the canvas in 1751, the year the prince died, aged 40. The Rijksmuseum bought it in 1806, and its inventory number, SK-A-6, is one of the lowest in the collection.