Archibald Campbell, Earl of Ilay and later 3rd Duke of Argyll, was the most powerful political figure in Scotland during the mid-eighteenth century. A Whig supporter in the turbulent political climate after the union between Scotland and England, he was a close ally of Prime Minister Robert Walpole. From 1710 until his death he also held the important legal post of Lord Justice-General, the head of Scotland’s highest criminal court. After the death of his elder brother, Ilay succeeded to the most prestigious dukedom in Scotland at the age of 61. He ordered the construction of Inveraray castle in 1746, but never lived there as the building was not completed until nearly three decades after his death. The duke was a personal friend of Allan Ramsay, who painted three different portraits of him.