It depicts the wedding between Queen Victoria, reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, and her prince consort Albert on 10 February 1840 at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace in London.

Hayter had developed his reputation as a portrayer of important scenes of public life with his The Trial of Queen Caroline, exhibited in 1823.

[1] As with his earlier works, Hayter took a great deal of time painting individual portraits of the various participants.

The work features fifty six individual portraits, most of whom sat for Hayter between 1840 and 1842 with the notable exception of Adelaide who he drew from a miniature depicting her.

[2] Hayter followed this with another painting The Christening of the Prince of Wales depicting the ceremony featuring the future Edward VII, completed in 1845.