Queen Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, had caught typhoid in November 1871 and had been dangerously ill. In her speech for the opening of Parliament in February 1872 the Queen announced she would be present at a service of Thanksgiving in St Paul's for his recovery. Huge and enthusiastic crowds gathered along the route. The Queen had left Buckingham Palace at five minutes past 12 even though at 11 o'clock there was still scaffolding around the Gothic arch, depicted in the picture, which had been erected at the bottom of Fleet Street. Long lines of Venetian masts had been set along this section of the route, painted red with shields attached to them. Between them were shorter masts painted blue, topped by plumes and trophies of smaller flags. The display represented the shields and crowns of Kings and Queens for 1,000 years, from Alfred to Victoria. The devices on the banners on the shorter masts included the names of nearly 100 towns in the United Kingdom, the Colonies and the Indian Empire.

The Queen wrote a long account of the event in her Journal: 'the long Progress … the beautiful decorations, – the wonderful enthusiasm & astounding affectionate loyalty shown'. After the service the Queen asked Prince Alfred to commission Chevalier to paint a picture of the procession for her. In the painting in the ninth of the Queen's carriages are the Queen, Princess Beatrice, the Prince and Princess of Wales with their son Prince Albert Victor of Wales. The Prince of Wales is raising his hat to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd.

Signed and dated: N. Chevalier / 1873.