'Four Generations' (King George V; Queen Victoria; King Edward VII; Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII))

Sittersback to top

• King Edward VII (1841-1910), Reigned 1901-10. Sitter associated with 346 portraits.
• Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (King Edward VIII) (1894-1972), Reigned 1936. Sitter associated with 345 portraits.
• King George V (1865-1936), Reigned 1910-36. Sitter associated with 319 portraits.
• Queen Victoria (1819-1901), Reigned 1837-1901. Sitter associated with 444 portraits, Artist associated with 5 portraits.

Artistback to top

• John Chancellor (active 1860s-1916). Artist associated with 18 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This photograph depicts four British monarchs: (from left to right) Prince George, Duke of York, later George V; Queen Victoria; Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VII; and Prince Edward of York, later Edward VIII and subsequently Duke of Windsor. Writing to her daughter Princess Victoria, Empress Frederick of Germany, in June 1894 about the birth of Prince Edward of York, Queen Victoria commented that 'it seems that it has never happened in this Country that there should be three direct Heirs as well as the Sovereign alive'. The queen was evidently fond of this idea, and a number of photographs and paintings commemorate 'The Four Generations'. This photograph by Chancellor of Sackville Street, Dublin, was taken at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight on 5 August 1899, shortly after the queen's eightieth birthday.

Linked publicationsback to top

• Rogers, Malcolm, Camera Portraits, 1989 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 20 October 1989 - 21 January 1990), p. 143
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 736

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

• The World's Most Photographed (6 June 2005 - 23 October 2005)

Subjects & Themesback to top

• Children
• Family portraits
• Group portraits