'The Queen, The Prince and eight Royal children'

Photograph of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) standing in left side profile, wearing a bonnet with Prince Albert (1819-61) standing on the right, wearing a top hat. Their children (from left to right) are: Prince Leopold (1853-84), Prince Alfred (1844-1900), Princess Helena (1846-1923), Princess Alice (1843-78), Prince Albert (1841-1910), Prince Arthur (1850-1942), Princess Louise (1848-1939) and Princess Victoria (1840-1901). Roger Fenton made a group portrait of the Royal Family in the grounds of Buckingham Palace on 22 May 1854, and, with so many small, unrestrained children to photograph, he wisely decided to make the exposure instantaneously. The result approaches a snapshot both in size and in style, but it really does not succeed as an informal portrait, because the Queen's pose and the gaze of the children suggest a carefully prearranged moment.