Carte-de-visite three quarter length photograph of Prince Karl Theodore of Bavaria. The subject is shown standing in three quarter view, facing towards the right of the image. His blonde hair is elaborately curled and arranged in a centre parting and he has a moustache. He is wearing General's military uniform featuring prominent epaulettes and a row of gilded buttons up the front. He has a cape draped over his shoulders. His is holding his hands crossed in front of him, possibly resting on the hilt of his sword. On the right of the scene there is a small table covered by a patterned cloth, on which rests his hat.

Karl Theodore was the third son of Duke Maximilian of Bavaria and his wife, Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. He was a qualified medical doctor, specialising in ophthalmology.  In 1865 Karl Theodor married his first cousin Princess Sophie of Saxony and the couple had one child. Following the death of his first wife, in 1874 he married Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal and the couple had five children.