This portrait depicts the four-year-old Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne, without any of the symbols of royal status. His pose shows a confident young boy, dressed in a sailor suit which had been purchased by his mother. The sunny landscape evoked summertime memories of Osborne House, the Royal Family’s private residence on the Isle of Wight, or their summer tour that year of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, during which the young prince had enjoyed collecting specimens of seaweed with his father.

Albert's gifts were quite beautiful, amongst them that lovely full length picture of Bertie, in his sailor's dress, by Winterhalter. It is such a perfect likeness & such a charming composition.

Queen Victoria’s Journal, 24 December 1846

From Prince Albert to Queen Victoria, Christmas 184