The exhibition traces the roots of the Conversation Piece back to the Netherlands in the 17th century and to the work of artists such as Pieter de Hooch and Godfried Schalcken.

This form of group portraiture reached the height of its popularity in Georgian England, and the exhibition includes outstanding paintings by the greatest exponents of the Conversation Piece, Johan Zoffany, William Hogarth and Thomas Gainsborough.

To complement the selection of royal Conversation Pieces, the exhibition shows examples of the genre acquired by members of the royal family over the past four centuries.