'Queen Victoria with four eldest children'

Glass plate negative of a painting of Queen Victoria with her four eldest children: Victoria, the Princess Royal, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, Princess Alice and Prince Alfred. The group stand, facing towards the right. Queen Victoria holds an infant Prince Alfred.

The painting was completed in 1845 and is still held in the Royal Collection, RCIN 405293. The Queen asked Winterhalter to copy and arrange to her own design ‘my portrait with the 4 children’ from the central group in his painting of The Reception of Louis-Philippe, King of the French, at Windsor Castle, 8 October 1844 (RCIN 401378). She was pleased with the painting and noted in her Journal that it ‘looks quite lovely’.

The glass plate negative has been photographed showing the coated side and therefore the image appears laterally reversed. Prints from this negative exist in the Collection, RCINs 2106392 and 2917869.