This is a study of the head of Queen Victoria for the full-length figure of the Queen in Wilkie’s The First Council of Queen Victoria, which can be seen alongside. The painting depicts the first meeting of Queen Victoria’s Privy Council on 20 June 1837, only hours after her accession. This oil sketch may have been painted on 17 October 1837, making it the earliest painting of Queen Victoria as reigning queen. Purchased by HM The Queen, 1990