This painting depicts the moment in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday 20th June 1837 when Princess Victoria hears of her accession to the throne. She recorded the incident which took place at Kensington Palace in her journal; 'I was awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma who told me that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting room (only in my dressing gown) and alone, and saw them. Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain) then acquainted me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning and consequently that I am Queen '.

Surprisingly Queen Victoria did not commission this painting. Instead, Wells was inspired by the description of the incident he read in the Diaries of Frances Williams-Wynn (née Shakerley) and first attempted a much larger version which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1880 (Tate Gallery, London). This painting is a later version and the figures are grouped against a different background. Wells has included a portrait of Princess Victoria's father, the Duke of Kent and the still life objects on the table - a ball, book and flowers - allude to the childish pursuits the Princess will now have to abandon.


Signed and dated: HT Wells.1887.