Colonel John Fremantle CB, Aide de Camp to the King, 1832

Oil on board, signed and dated lower right, 'A. Dubois Drahonet 1832.', by Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet (1791-1834), 1832.

Inscribed lower left, 'aide de camp to the King', this portrait of Colonel John Fremantle is a copy of a painting in the Royal Collection, by the same artist. That portrait is one of a series of 100 portraits by Alexandre-Jean Dubois Drahonet, which were commissioned by King William IV in 1832 to record recent changes in uniform, weapons and equipment. Ninety-one of these portraits are still in the Royal Collection, including a portrait of the future Queen Victoria.

John William Fremantle was the nephew of Sir William Fremantle, whose portrait by Drahonet is also in this collection. John Fremantle came under his uncle's care after his father died when John was four years of age. From 1803, he was a student at the recently founded, Royal Military College at High Wycombe. The college aimed to supply the army with well-trained and educated officers. In 1805, Fremantle was gazetted an ensign without purchase in the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards. As a lieutenant-colonel, he distinguish himself in the Peninsular War and was twice mentioned in despatches. He then followed in his uncle's footsteps, serving as one of Wellington's ADCs and his private secretary from 1813.

Fremantle played an important role in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, guiding the Prussian reinforcements to shore up Wellington's left flank. After the battle, Fremantle remained in France and was empowered by the Duke of Wellington to ratify the Convention of St Cloud, which brought the war to an end.

In 1830, he was made a Brevet Colonel and appointed Aide-de-Camp to The King.He died a major-general on the retired list. Fremantle's letters to his uncle from 1808-21, were published by Gareth Glover in 2012.