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

UNKNOWN PERSON

Young girl in 18th-century fancy dress 

c.1859

Albumen print | 11.7 x 8.1 cm (image) | RCIN 2906807

Photograph of an unidentified young girl standing, facing three-quarters to the left. She turns her head towards the camera. The young girl wears an 18th-century costume and holds a fan. The subject may have been a guest at the Juvenile Bal Costumé at Buckingham Palace on 7th April 1859.

  • Creator(s)

    Unknown Person (photographer)

  • 11.7 x 8.1 cm (image)

    28.4 x 23.0 cm (page dimensions)

    29.5 x 25.0 x 5.0 cm (album)

  • Young Girl in Eighteenth-Century Fancy Dress [Photographic Portraits Vol.3/61 1856-1863]

  • Acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

  • Subject(s)
    • Social sciences
      • Ethnology
        • Costume & National dress
          • History of costume
            • Costume-18C
    • Science, Medicine and Technology
      • Industries, Crafts and Trades
        • Toys and Decorations
          • Theatrical costumes
            • Costume-Fancy Dress
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs
        • albums
          • photograph albums
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