Beaumont was the fifth son of Sir Henry Beaumont. He entered the Navy as a king's letter boy in 1684 and was appointed lieutenant of the ‘Portsmouth’ in October 1688. In April 1689 he was promoted captain of the 'Centurion', which was lost by storm in Plymouth Sound in December, though he was not blamed. Because of this and the patronage of the Earl of Torrington, he was quickly appointed to the command of other ships. On 1st March 1703 he was promoted rear-admiral, hoisting his flag in the 'Mary'. That summer he cruised the North Sea, returning to anchor in the Downs in October. He was still there on 27th November when the Great Storm of 1703 drove his ship, along with the 'Stirling Castle' and the 'Northumberland' onto the Goodwin Sands. The 'Mary' was lost with all hands. Beaumont, only 34 when he died, had risen rapidly thanks to his connections rather than notably distinguished service: his posthumous fame is in having been the most senior officer lost in the Great Storm, which caused some 2,000 naval deaths. His mother petitioned Queen Anne for a pension in 1704, claiming he had been the sole support for his two younger brothers and six sisters. The outcome was that the six daughters were each granted £50 a year. The painting is one of Kneller and Dahl 'admirals' set commissioned by Prince George of Denmark, Lord High Admiral, for his wife Queen Anne, which George IV presented to Greenwich Hospital in 1824.