A half-length photograph of King George V in the striking uniform of the 18th Lancers was published in the Sphere in 1914 and this or a similar photograph may be the basis of the portrait.  The King stands wearing the uniform of Colonel-in-Chief of the 18th King George's Own Lancers with the ribbon and Star of the Order of India and the Star of the Garter, holding his sword in his left hand, against an architectural background. The regiment was sent to France in 1914 and fought in the Battle of the Somme.

It is painted in a western style by Venkatesh Rao, an artist who is better known for his paintings of Indian goddesses published by the Ravi Varma Works.

An inscription of the lower right of the painting records that it was presented to the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) by 'His Most Humble Subject,  G.V.Venkatesh Rao', from Bangalore, in 1922.