In 1832 Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet was commissioned by King William IV to paint one hundred pictures illustrating the uniform of the Army and the Navy. Ninety-one of the one hundred are still in the collection today. These are some of the few military works by Drahonet that are recorded, along with paintings depicting the French Navy in the Musée de la Marine, Paris. Each picture in the series profiles one figure against a neutral background, focusing on details of uniform. The sitters are sometimes identified by name, and are otherwise classified by rank and regiment. The Hon. William Edwardes was born in 1801, the second son of the 2nd Baron Kensington. He succeeded to the title (his elder brother having predeceased his father) in 1852. He joined the Royal Navy as a First Class Volunteer in 1814, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1823. Edwardes was promoted Commander for his conduct at the Battle of Navarino in 1827. He later became H.M. Lieutenant for Pembrokeshire, and died in 1872. The rank is distinguished by the epaulettes and by the lace round the cuffs. The costume is full dress, as worn between 15th October and 30th April, with blue trousers. The Royal Navy had scarlet facings from 1830 (almost immediately upon the accession of King William IV) to 1843.