Karl Jacob Theodor Leybold (1786-1844), the son of Johann Friedrich, studied at the Academy in Vienna. He was in Rome from 1807 to 1815, and then returned to Vienna, where he was recognized as a fine portrait painter. In 1821 he established himself in Stuttgart. He was appointed a professor at the Academy there in 1829, and became an inspector of the Neue Staatsgalerie in 1842.

Princess Feodora (1807-1872) was Queen Victoria’s half-sister from their mother’s first marriage. She and her brother Charles were taken to London after his mother’s second marriage to Edward, Duke of Kent. In 1828, she returned to the continent to marry Ernst, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. She and Queen Victoria were devoted to each other and corresponded throughout their lives.

This painting was created for Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent; It forms a pair with Leybold's portrait of the sitter's husband, Prince Ernest (RCIN 407159). In it the Princess appears half-length, wearing a red, off-the-shoulder velvet dress with puffed sleeves, jewelled brooches at the bosom and on the shoulders, drop earrings and a jewelled band about her head.