The sitter of the portrait was the only daughter of George IV, and wife of Prince Leopold, the future king of the Belgians. In this portrait, of which there are a number of versions, she wears a blue silk Russian-style dress (shown on the left) with the star of the Order of St Catherine on her left breast, which she received from Empress Maria Feodorovna, mother of Alexander I on 1 July 1817. The presence of Emperor Alexander I in London in 1814 may have created a fashion trend for dress in the Russian tradition, such as this Sarafan-style ensemble. The silk is of French manufacture, while the trimmings and the ensemble itself were made in England.