The son of two well-known Viennese actors, Koberwein studied painting in Paris with Paul Delaroche (1797-1856); he worked in various European capitals before setting in London in 1859. He experimented with processes for colouring photographs and his painted portraiture was greatly influenced by photography. Queen Victoria described Koberwein as ‘such a useful good artist & pleasant person’. Princess Maud (1869-1938) was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, the fifth child of her eldest son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. In 1896 she married Prince Carl of Denmark, who in 1905 was elected King of Norway, taking the name Haakon VII.