Winterhalter, who was born in the Black Forest in Germany, was the principal portrait painter at the court of Queen Victoria during the first half of her reign. He first came to London in 1842 on the recommendation of Louise, Queen of the Belgians, and he continued to work for Queen Victoria at intervals until his death, painting well over a hundred pictures. He was an artist of international status and managed to sustain a high level of productivity, amassing a substantial fortune in the process. Queen Victoria admired the light, fresh colours of his work, and frequently commissioned him to paint subjects of private significance.

Queen Victoria was captivated by Duleep Singh (1838-93) when first introduced to him in 1854, the year in which he was brought to England, having surrendered his sovereignty of the Punjab in 1849. She recorded in her journal on 10 July 1854 that 'Winterhalter was in ecstasies at the beauty and nobility of bearing of the young Maharaja. He was very amiable and patient, standing so still and giving a sitting of upwards of 2 hrs'. Queen Victoria's fascination with India continued throughout her life and this was one of many portraits that she commissioned of Indian sitters. However, Winterhalter rarely romanticised or exoticised his male portraits as he did in this image, placing the young Maharaja in an imaginary landscape in Indian dress.

The Maharaja is shown wearing his diamond aigrette and star in his turban and a jewel-framed miniature of Queen Victoria by Emily Eden. During one of the sittings he was shown the Koh-i-nûr diamond that he had surrendered in 1849. Queen Victoria recorded how she had given him the newly recut jewel to inspect and that he then handed it back to her, saying how much pleasure it gave him to be able to make the gift in person. He quickly became a close friend of the royal family, visiting them twice (in 1854 and 1856) at Osborne on the Isle of Wight and inviting the Prince of Wales to shooting parties on his estate at Elveden Hall in Suffolk. However, Duleep Singh's financial difficulties and disaffection with British politics led him to become involved in various international intrigues in an attempt to regain his throne and he died in exile in Paris.

Signed and dated F Winterhalter 1854