Location: Room VIII – Charlotte’s boudoir
A version of this portrait of Charlotte as a child is found in the Royal Collection of the British Royal Family. It was given to Queen Victoria by Princess Louise of Orléans, Charlotte’s mother and Queen of Belgium, as a Christmas gift in 1842, satisfying the Queen of England’s repeated requests to have a portrait of her young cousin. Two other versions of this portrait exist, one at Versailles and one in Belgium. Eventually becoming a famous, sought-after artist, F.X. Winterhalter was introduced to the French and English courts by the Belgian Royal Family.
In the Miramare version of the painting, Princess Charlotte is portrayed in a short-sleeve white dress embellished with light blue ribbons. She sits on a red cushion and holds flowers in her arms, probably camellias and hyacinths. Her hair falls in curls, parted in the middle to frame a face defined by large dark eyes and full cheeks. Stylistically speaking, the portrait has some elements in common with the English version, which, as mentioned in a letter written by Charlotte’s mother, Princess Louise of Orléans, was quite realistic in the rendering of the little girl’s face as well as her personality.
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