Winterhalter was born in the Black Forest where he was encouraged to draw at school. In 1818 he went to Freiburg to study under Karl Ludwig Sch?ler and then moved to Munich in 1823, where he attended the Academy and studied under Josef Stieler, a fashionable portrait painter. Winterhalter was first brought to the attention of Queen Victoria by the Queen of the Belgians and subsequently painted numerous portraits at the English court from 1842 till his death.

Prince Albert wears the robes of the Order of the Garter and the collars of the Order of the Garter, the Bath and the Golden Fleece. He holds a Field-Marshal's baton, which is still in the Royal Collection, in his left hand.

Signed: F Winterhalter.