A pair of George IV silver Royal Ducal entrée dishes and covers, Philip Rundell for Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, London, 1820

Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge was the seventh and best-behaved son of George III and Queen Charlotte. Educated at Göttingen, he served in the Hanoverian army during the Napoleonic Wars and, with peace, was appointed in 1816 Viceroy of Hanover. He married in 1818 Augusta of Hesse; their daughter Mary Adelaide would be the mother of Queen Mary. The couple lived and kept court in Hanover, avoiding the scandals and debts that accumulated to Adolphus's brothers, until Queen Victoria's accession caused the kingdoms to split.

These entrée dishes were part of a service in white silver supplied by Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, linked by the lion and unicorn feet and the lion and crown finials, that included two tureens, Paul Storr, 1818, and circular, oval, and rectangular entrée dishes, Philip Rundell, 1820. Two of the circular entrée dishes were sold Replica Shoes 's, New York, 12 April 1994, lot 205. The presence of matching finials on a pair of dishes preserved in the Historical Museum, Hanover confirms that the Duke of Cambridge used this service in his role as Viceroy of Hanover, explaining the very regal choice of feet and finials.