It represents the actual meeting that took place in the Red Saloon at Kensington Palace on 20 June 1837, when the eighteen year-old queen met with senior politicians from both the governing Whig Party and the opposition Tories.

[citation needed] Seated at the centre of the table is Victoria's uncle Ernst Augustus, Duke of Cumberland who became King of Hanover on his brother William's death as the Guelphic Law restricted the succession of woman.

Wilkie felt under increasing pressure as it became clear the young Queen expected it to be completed in time for the Royal Academy's next Summer Exhibition beginning the following May.

[5] He shows Victoria, the only woman on the room and by far the youngest, seated on a dias and dressed in white to emphasise her purity and innocence in sharp contrast to distinguish her from the darker clad experienced politicians.

It was hanging in the Grand Corridor of Windsor Castle in 1860 and today remains part of the Royal Collection on display at Kensington Palace.