Anton Hähnisch's miniature copy is based on Franz Xaver Winterhalter's half-length oil sketch of June 1861 (400761: Royal Collection) showing the Princess in mourning for her grandmother, the Duchess of Kent, who had died on 16 March. She wears a black evening dress with a locket suspended from a black ribbon around her neck and jet hoop earrings.

Born in Vienna, Anton Hähnisch studied at the Academy there before travelling to Berlin (1847 – 8), Frankfurt, Paris, London (1850 – 63), Rome (1872 – 3) and Karlsruhe. He exhibited at the Viennese Academy (1836 – 47) and at the Royal Academy (1850 – 69), but had returned to Berlin by 1869.