It depicts the wedding of Princess Helena of the United Kingdom and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein in the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle on 5 July 1866. Queen Victoria stands right behind the couple.[1]
Helena was the third daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Christian, a minor German prince, was the second son of Christian August II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, and Countess Louise Sophie Danneskiold-Samsøe. The marriage was deeply opposed by several figures within the British royal family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Alice and Prince Alfred.[2]
The work was commissioned by Queen Victoria from Magnussen after recommendations by her eldest daughter, Victoria, Crown Princess of Prussia.[1] The Queen, however, was unsatisfied with the finished painting, a sentiment shared by the Crown Princess of Prussia.[1]
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