William Windham II (1717-61) (oil on canvas)

This portrait seems to have given rise to the legend that William II Windham (1717-61) served as an officer in the Empress Maria Theresa’s regiment of Hungarian Hussars, whilst on his travels. The story is highly improbable, but the complete nature of his costume suggests more than fancy dress, and that he actually possessed the real thing. It may also be an indication that he did get as far as Vienna and Hungary. After Maria Theresa’s coronation as Queen of Hungary in 1741, the Hungarians became her stoutest defenders, and the Hussars popular symbols of this for her English allies. What may have been this portrait was recorded in Dagnia’s hands at his death.