Artwork Information

Lavinia de Irujo was the natural daughter of the Secretary of Legation to the Spanish Ambassador, Marquis del Campo, in London. According to John Wardroper, a Times newspaper article claimed the Marquis de Irujo had borrowed the livery of a footman as a disguise to trick Lavinia’s mother Sarah Knight into bed. Discovering how she had been misused, Sarah stormed the embassy door and his cruelty was revealed. Queen Charlotte found the article particularly entertaining, and publicly teased the ambassador about the incident whenever the opportunity arose.