Queen Victoria and her entourage are seen here ‘riding out’ in Windsor Great Park. The Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne, rides at the Queen’s side. Melbourne was an influential mentor to the young Queen before her marriage, and it is likely to have been at his suggestion that Grant, an aspiring painter of sporting scenes from Perthshire, was commissioned to paint this group portrait. Grant went on to become the most successful society portraitist of his generation. Commissioned by Queen Victoria