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This painting was acquired by Queen Victoria from the collection of King Louis Philippe in 1853. It was catalogued as a portrait of an unknown woman at the court of Philip IV of Spain while in the French king's 'Galerie Espagnole' (Notice des tableaux de la Galerie Espagnole exposés dans les salles du Musée Royal au Louvre, Imprimerie de Crapelet, Paris, 1838, No. 308). The sitter has since been tentatively identified as Isabella of Bourbon (1602-1644), Queen consort of Philip IV of Spain, on the basis of similarities with other known portraits, particular that questionably attributed to Diego Velazquez in the National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen.

Were the sitter in the Royal Collection portrait to be identified as Isabella of Bourbon, her youth would suggest a date of around 1620. The painting bears some resemblance to extant portraits of Isabella at this date, including the anonymous work the Museo del Prado, Madrid (P001037). However, the sitter's attire suggests a later dating of between 1630 and 1640. In particular, the relatively narrow quilled ruff and cuffs, and the arrangement of hair at the sides of the head, ornamented with feathers, reflect the fashions of this decade. On this basis it is difficult to substantiate the identification of the sitter as Isabella of Bourbon, who would have been 28 years of age in 1630.

The painting has almost certainly been cut down, as presumably the sitter's hands were once visible. What remains is in keeping with the style of Spanish court portraiture developed by Diego Velazquez in the middle decades of the 17th century.