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.

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Portraiture

Prince Albert was an early adopter of portrait photography

AFTER MAYER FRÈRES

'The Emperor Napoleon III' (1808-73)

1889 copy after an original of 1854

Carbon print | 9.9 x 7.5 cm (image) | RCIN 2906627

Photograph of a three-quarter length portrait of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (1808-73) standing, facing slightly towards the right. He wears a military uniform and holds a bicorn hat in his left hand.

  • Creator(s)

    After Mayer Frères (photographer)

    Gustav William Henry Mullins (1854-1921) (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    Napoléon III, Emperor of the French (1808-73)

  • annotation: The Emperor Napoleon III/ by Meyer [sic]/ 1854 [beneath photograph]

    annotation: Reproduced & Printed in Carbon by Mullins 1889 [mount, lower left and lower right]

  • 9.9 x 7.5 cm (image)

    28.2 x 22.9 cm (page dimensions)

  • The Emperor Napoleon III, 1854 [Photographic Portraits. Vol 1/59 (1853-1857)]

  • Acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

  • Subject(s)
    • Science, Medicine and Technology
      • Industries, Crafts and Trades
        • Clothing
          • Costume
            • Uniforms
              • Military uniforms
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs
        • albums
          • photograph albums
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