Leopold was the elder son of Leopold I, whom he succeeded as King of the Belgians in 1865. His father described him in 1864 as 'more selfish and fantastical than ever'. He had an unhappy marriage and his only son died in 1869. He travelled extensively and provided funds for the acquisition and colonisation of the Belgian Congo, which made him immensely rich by the end of his life. His dissolute private life caused estrangement between him and his English relatives.

Inscribed on the back with the names of the artist and sitter and the date, 1841.