Funeral: Procession of the late Lord Viscount Nelson from Greenwich to Whitehall

When Admiral Lord Nelson died during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the nation mourned the death of a naval hero. Tributes and memorials to the fallen leader took the form of paintings and statues - including the well-known column erected in Trafalgar Square - and an elaborate funeral procession took place in London.

On 6 January 1806 the funeral procession for Lord Nelson made its way from Greenwich to the Admiralty and the following day to St. Paul's Cathedral, where the coffin was interred in the crypt. Nelson's coffin was laid directly under the dome of the cathedral, near an inscription of his famous quote: 'England expects that every man will do his duty'. The moment depicted in Pugin's drawing is the procession of boats, many of which are waving patriotic flags, pulling out from Greenwich Hospital, which is seen in the distance.

Horatio Nelson's success during the wars with France, and his subsequent victories at both the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1797 and the Battle of the Nile in 1798, made him a revered national leader. His death stimulated huge sympathy from patriotic Britons who turned out in crowds to follow the funeral procession.