The marriage of Princess Alice, the third child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and Prince Louis of Hesse took place ‘in the strictest privacy’ barely six months after the death of Prince Albert. The ceremony was held in the Dining Room at Osborne ‘which was very prettily decorated, the altar being placed under our large family picture’ (RCIN 405413), as the Queen recorded in her Journal. A portrait of Victoria, Duchess of Kent, by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (RCIN 405129) also hangs on the back wall in this painting. The Archbishop of York stands behind the altar and Queen Victoria sits in the light from the window, with Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold next to her. The bridegroom’s parents, Prince and Princess Charles of Hesse, stand facing Queen Victoria. The bridesmaids were Princess Alice’s sisters – Princess Louise, Princess Helena and Princess Beatrice – and Princess Anna of Hesse. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1863. Signed: George H. Thomas.

Provenance

Painted for Queen Victoria

Creator(s)

Search the collection

George Housman Thomas (1824-68) (artist)

Acquirer(s)

Search the collection View person page

Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1819-1901)

Subject(s)

Search the collection

Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse & by Rhine, consort of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse & by Rhine, 2nd daughter of Queen Victoria (1843-78)

Search the collection

Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse & by Rhine, 1st son of Prince Karl of Hesse & by Rhine, grandson of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse & by Rhine (1837-92)

Medium & Techniques

Oil on canvas

oil paint, canvas

Measurements

53.8 x 67.0 cm (support, canvas/panel/str external)

79.0 x 91.6 x 9.5 cm (frame, external)

Object categorie(s)

• Paintings

Object type(s)

• visual works
  • paintings

• Social sciences
  • Ethnology
    • Social customs
      • Marriage
• Places
  • Europe
    • Great Britain
      • England
        • Isle of Wight [England]
          • Osborne Estate [Isle of Wight]
            • Osborne House
              • Dining Room, Osborne House

References

OMV : Millar, O., 1992. The Victorian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 2 vols, Cambridge - OMV 776

Alternative titles

The Marriage of Princess Alice with Prince Louis of Hesse in the Dining-Room, Osborne House, July 1st 1862.