The founder of the van Loo dynasty of painters was the Dutchman, Jacob van Loo (1614-70), who was obliged to flee Amsterdam after killing someone in a pub brawl. Having settled in Paris his son, Louis Abraham, and grandsons, Jean-Baptiste and Carle-Andre (1705-65), all made successful careers in France. In addition Jean-Baptise himself had two painter sons, Louis-Michel (1707-71) and Charles-Amedee-Philippe (1719-95). Jean-Baptiste trained as a religious and mythological painter in Italy with Benedetto Luti (1666-1724), before settling in Paris in 1719. He made a brief visit to England from 1737-42, where his success as a portrait painter annoyed Hogarth so much that it provoked him into talking up portraiture himself.

This is an unusual portrait in mixing members of a royal family with members of a royal household, though later it became common to introduce the occasional governess into portraits including royal children. The main royal is Augusta, Princess of Wales, who sits enthroned with her coronet beside and presumably commissioned the painting. Her children are dispersed around her: reading from left to right they are Prince George (the future George III, 1738-1820); Prince Edward (later Duke of York, 1739-67)) and Princess Augusta (later Duchess of Brunswick, 1737-1813). Each child seems to be paired off with a member of the household: the Hon Arabella Herbert (d. 1755), to the left, holds Prince George's hat; Lady Archibald Hamilton (d. 1752) holds Prince Edward; Sir William Irby (later Lord Boston, 1707-75) stands behind Princess Augusta, slightly echoing her gesture but not obviously related to her. Sir William had been page to George I and George II and at this stage was Vice-Chamberlain to the Princess of Wales, a position denoted by the gold key hanging from his pocket. Arabella Herbert was Governess to Princess Agusta and Lady Hamilton keeper of the Privy Purse and Mistress of the Robes for the Princess. Modern viewers might mistake Sir William for the Princess's husband; eighteenth-century viewers would have known that had this been the case he would be standing at the Princess's right hand, a position here occupied by the infant George III, who appears appropriately enthoned on a cushion.

Signed: 'J. B. Vanloo 1739' (the last digit is difficult to read)