[1][2] In 1896 Hobson married William Lee Hankey (1869–1952), an artist who worked on book illustrations, character studies, landscapes, and pastoral scenes.

The lustrous blue-grey eyes entrance the onlooker, the winsome tilt of the head already exudes that famous abundant charm, an attribute which is mentioned by every artist who has written any account of a sitting".

On 23 February 1923 Lady Elizabeth wrote in her diary that a "horrible photographer" had been lying in wait for her when she went for a sitting to Mabel Hankey.

[11][12] The painting was kept on the writing desk of Queen Elizabeth II in her private sitting room at Windsor Castle.

At the beginning of the Second World War Mabel Lee Hankey moved from London to Storrington, Sussex (at "Fleurbaix in North Lane).