The Marriage of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, 23 January 1874 1874-75

• Oil on canvas | 168.4 x 138.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/str external) | RCIN 404476

Description

Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, was the fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He married the Grand Duchess Marie, daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, in the Imperial Chapel of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg on 23 January 1874. In the painting the bride and bridegroom are holding candles and the Metropolitan Archbishop, who conducted the ceremony, holds a cross above them. He is standing in front of a lectern on which are the Gospels in a jewelled cover. The bride’s train is held by six Chamberlains. The Tsar and Tsarina are standing beyond the chamberlains. The choir can be seen in the foreground on the right. There were both Greek and English ceremonies and Chevalier produced sketches depicting key moments of the occasion which were sent to Queen Victoria. The Duke of Edinburgh wrote to his mother: ’I hope to [be] able to send with this by tomorrows messenger two sketches by Chevalier & in one of the Greek ceremony by using the little additional slips you will be able to follow the different parts of the service’. Chevalier’s travelling expenses for the 42 days he was away from England were paid for by Queen Victoria, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1875. Provenance