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

JOHN JABEZ EDWIN MAYALL (1813-1901)

The Princess Royal

Aug 1855

Salted paper print with painted additions | 21.0 x 17.2 cm (image) | RCIN 2900057

Photograph of a three-quarter length portrait of Victoria, Princess Royal, later Empress of Germany (1844-1901) seated, facing halfway to the right. She turns her head towards the left and gazes ahead, away from the camera. She poses with her hands held together, holding a flower, on her lap. Photograph has been enhanced through painted additions in monochrome.

  • Creator(s)

    John Jabez Edwin Mayall (1813-1901) (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    Empress Friedrich, German Empress and Queen of Prussia (1840-1901)

  • annotation: The Princess Royal./ Osborne. Aug. 1855./ By Mr. Mayall. [beneath work]

  • 21.0 x 17.2 cm (image)

  • Acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

  • Subject(s)
    • Natural Sciences & Mathematics
      • Botany
        • Systematic botany
          • Flowering plants
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs
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.