Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia (1770– 1840), succeeded his father, Friedrich Wilhelm II (b. 1744), in 1797. During the tumultuous years of the Napoleonic Wars and the associated demise of the Holy Roman Empire, he endeavoured to secure the future of his country by steering a cautious path between France and her enemies, only joining the alliance against Napoleon in 1813. Thereafter Prussian troops played a significant role in the Allies’ victory, the king travelling with the army of Karl Philipp, Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (1771–1820), the most senior of the allied generals during the 1813–1814 campaign. He was married to the redoubtable Luise, Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1776– 1810). Official portraits of rulers such as were set in presentation snuffboxes tended to depict the sitter either three-quarters view or full face. The present miniature, showing Friedrich Wilhelm III in profile, wearing the Prussian army uniform with the breast star of the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle, is therefore atypical, suggesting that this snuffbox was not conceived as a presentation piece. That the miniature is slightly smaller than the aperture is an indication that the portrait was fitted later. Conceivably it may have been intended to be part of a gallery of notables, possibly commemorating the participants of the Congress of Vienna who sought to provide a longterm peace plan for Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. That it belonged to Earl St Vincent (1735– 1823), who had played a significant role in the wars, perhaps endorses this argument. As this box is not among those listed in the will of St Vincent it must have been given to Admiral Sir William Parker (1781–1866) prior to the earl’s death on 13 March 1823.

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