The sitter was the youngest son of King Louis Philippe of the French (see lots 424 and 425) and Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (see lot 426). He married, in 1846, Infanta Luisa Fernanda of Spain, daughter of King Ferdinand VII of Spain. After the Revolution of 1848 he left France and went to Spain. He was defeated by Amadeo of Savoy in the elections to appoint a new king and he subsequently left Spain but saw his daughter Mercedes become Queen of Spain after her marriage to Alfonso XII, son of Isabella II.