Exquisitely ornate Painstakingly hand painted. 3.25 inch king. Presented with a beautiful Spanish board. THE PIECES Led by a very recognisable Bonaparte and Wellington, each king is accompanied by his respective lady, Josephine and Catherine. With the French dressed in navy and the British in red, the bishops are smartly uniformed officers with the knights as intricately carved mounted cavalry. The pawns are infantry bearing firearms but represented as cannons with the relevant countries flag flying above, it is the rooks in this set that are the most eye-catching piece on the field. With a beautiful 15.75 inch walnut and maple board from Spain, this makes a very enviable chess set. The Battle of Waterloo Themed Chess Men are, however, also available without the board. Either way, this would make a superb gift. THE HISTORY At the hands of by the Duke of Wellington and Prince of Wahlstatt (Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher), 18th June 1815 at Waterloo not only saw Bonaparte\'s defeat and the end of his rule, it also marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile. According to Wellington, the conflict was \'the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life\'. The battlefield, which at the time was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherland, is located about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the town of Waterloo and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Brussels. Today, the site of the battlefield is marked by the Lion\'s Mound. As soil was taken from the original battlefield to construct this large monument, the original site has not been preserved.