Prince Edward was the son of Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Duchess Ida, the sister of Queen Adelaide, Queen Victoria's great aunt. He was brought up in England and was a childhood friend of Queen Victoria. He entered the army in 1841, served with distinction in the Crimea and was made Field-Marshal in 1897. From 1888 until his death he was Gold Stick, a bodyguard in the Royal Household.

Little is known of the artist Florence Marks, although she may be one of the four daughters of the Welsh-born artist Barnett Samuel Marks (1827-1916). She exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Society of Women Artists, c.1889-1918. A portrait by her of Prince Edward, dated 1896, is recorded in the collection of Goodwood House. The Royal Collection holds an early portrait of the sitter by Winterhalter, 1849 (RCIN 404599).