George IV's commission to depict his three eldest sisters in a full length group at a cost of 300 guineas must have seemed a magnificent opportunity to Gainsborough. In the event the painting's fortune did not prove altogether happy.

The first argument it caused was with the hanging committee of the Royal Academy of 1784 who (quite reasonably for a full-length) decided to hang it 'above the line' (the 'line' being a division at about eye-level between cabinet paintings, hung below, and large format works, hung above). Gainsborough's comments provide a valuable insight into what he considered to be special about his way of painting: 'he approves very much of the established Line for Strong Effects' he writes, but this work should not be placed higher than five and a half feet because 'he has painted this Picture of the Princesses in so tender a light'. This phrase 'tender light' sums up his soft, subtly-coloured and evocative style of painting; the opposite of 'strong effects'. The hanging committee were not prepared to compromise and Gainsborough withdrew the work, showing it instead at his studio in Schomberg House and never again sending work to the Academy.

The next unfortunate incident involving this painting was witnessed by Landseer early in the reign of Queen Victoria (Redgrave records his telling the story many years later on 25 November 1868): an 'inspector of palaces' called Saunders was seen by Landseer cutting down the canvas so that it fitted a space as an overdoor. The original design can still be seen in an engraving and also in a copy in oils by Gainsborough Dupont, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (136-1878) and confirms that Saunders took his largest slice from the bottom, but that he also cut a substantial strip off the top and added some 11cm to the left.

Gainsborough depicts Princess Augusta (1768) on the left, Princess Charlotte (1766-1820) standing in the centre, with Elizabeth (1770-1840) seated on the right. The sisters entwine arms affectionately reminding us of the intimate exchange of courtesies and caresses seen in depictions of the Three Graces.