The son of two well-known Viennese actors, Koberwein studied painting in Paris with Paul Delaroche (1797-1856); he worked in various European capitals before setting in London in 1859. He experimented with processes for colouring photographs and his painted portraiture was greatly influenced by photography. Queen Victoria described Koberwein as ‘such a useful good artist & pleasant person’. This is a copy by George Koberwein of the head and shoulders of Princess Alice in Winterhalter’s portrait (RCIN 404579) of 1861, but in this painting she is wearing her wedding dress instead of a ball gown. Princess Alice (1843-78) was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Known for her sweet nature, she often took on the role of peacekeeper in the royal household. The marriage of her older sister, Princess Victoria, in 1858 left Alice as the eldest daughter at home, and the Queen and Prince Albert both turned to her for company. In a popular edition of Alice's letters to the Queen, published in 1885, Princess Helena, her sister, described her as ‘loving Daughter and Sister, the devoted Wife and Mother, and a perfect, true Woman’. In 1862 she married Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. Inscribed on the back as painted by Koberwein in 1862, the head copied from Winterhalter, and with the date, 1 July 1862, below the names of the two artists.