For historical reasons, British painting is the least well represented area in the Prado’s collection. Political conflicts between Spain and England from the 16th-century until the early 20th-century, limited contact between the aristocratic families of the two countries, and a lack of royal alliances prior to the wedding of Alfonso XIII all impeded appreciation of British art in Spain. Nonetheless, the Prado has a group of works which, although small in number, are of fine quality and were mostly acquired in the 20th-century. Most are portraits painted in the second half of the 18th-century and the first half of the 19th-century, by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Romney and Hoppner. The best-represented portraitist is undoubtedly Thomas Lawrence, with significant works such as the portraits of John Fane, 10th Count of Westmoreland, Miss Martha Carr and A Lady from the Storer Family.

David Roberts, who is an important artist due to his associations with Spanish Romanticism, is present in the form of three paintings: The Torre de Oro, Seville, The Castle of Alcalá de Guadaira and The Interior of the Mosque, Cordoba.