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.

Portraiture

Prince Albert was an early adopter of portrait photography

UNKNOWN PERSON

Princess Sophie, Archduchess of Austria (1805-72)

c.1860

Albumen print | 8.9 x 5.9 cm (image) | RCIN 2907706

Photograph of a full length portrait of Sophie, Archduchess of Austria (1805-72), seated facing front. She rests her right arm on a table. She wears a headdress trimmed with lace.
  • Creator(s)

    Unknown Person (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria (1805-72)
  • annotation: Do. [Ditto] [beneath work]

  • 8.9 x 5.9 cm (image)

    9.8 x 6.4 cm (mount)

    23.1 x 18.2 cm (page dimensions)

    24.3 x 19.8 x 5.5 cm (album)

  • Archduchess Sophie, Mother of the Emperor. [Album: Photographs. Royal Portraits, vol.47]

  • Acquired by Prince Albert, the Prince Consort

  • Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs
          • cartes-de-visite