This painting shows the presentation of 11-year-old Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria, at a ‘Drawing Room’ (or formal reception) at St James’s Palace on 24 February 1831. The reception was held to mark the birthday of Queen Adelaide, who stands behind the Princess. The occasion was Princess Victoria’s first court appearance, and it is the young guest, rather than the new Queen, who is the focus of the painting. Presented to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, 1948