This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Visit the Royal Collection

Portraiture

Prince Albert was an early adopter of portrait photography

DR ERNST BECKER (1826-88)

Group portrait at Osborne House

c.1854

Albumen print | 8.2 x 10.6 cm (image) | RCIN 2906524

Photograph of a group portrait taken on the terrace steps at Osborne House. The group includes: Prince Albert, Princess Victoria, The Princess Royal, Caroline Cavendish, Thomas Biddulph, Sir Charles Phipps, Frederick W. Gibbs, Albert Edward Prince of Wales and Flora MacDonald.

  • Creator(s)

    Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88) (photographer)

    Previously attributed to Unknown Person (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    General Sir Thomas Myddelton Biddulph (1809-78)
    King Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom (1841-1910)
    Flora Isabella Clementina Macdonald (1822-c.1899)
    Caroline Fanny Cavendish (1826-1910)
    Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps (1801-66)
    Frederick Waymouth Gibbs (1821-98)
    Prince Albert, Prince Consort (1819-61)
    Empress Friedrich, German Empress and Queen of Prussia (1840-1901)

  • 8.2 x 10.6 cm (image)

    28.2 x 22.9 cm (page dimensions)

  • Group, Osborne, c.1854 [Photographic Portraits. Vol 1/59 (1853-1857)]

  • Acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

  • Subject(s)
    • Places
      • Europe
        • Great Britain
          • England
            • Isle of Wight [England]
              • Osborne Estate [Isle of Wight]
                • Osborne House
                  • Lower Terrace [Osborne House]
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs
        • albums
          • photograph albums
PreviousNext
PreviousNext
Policy links
Royal Collection TrustIn Partnership with

Royal Collection Trust is a charity caring for the Royal Collection and welcoming visitors to the royal palaces. We bring our shared history to life through world-class experiences that involve and inspire people, wherever they are. Income from tickets and retail sales helps us to conserve the Collection so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come.