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 Schüler 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 Edward was the son of Bernard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Duchess Ida, the sister of Queen Adelaide, Queen Victoria's great aunt. He was brought up in England and was a childhood friend of Queen Victoria. He entered the army in 1841, served with distinction in the Crimea and was made Field-Marshal in 1897. From 1888 until his death he was Gold Stick, a bodyguard in the Royal Household.

Signed and dated: F Winterhalter. / 1849.