When we think about Queen Victoria and the era of her reign, we often about staid social conventions, intricate etiquette, and conservative values. But, the Queen also lived a very interesting life which she passionately shared with her husband, Prince Albert, from their marriage in 1839 to his death in 1861. And what we so often miss is that the two were deeply in love, a fact Queen Victoria demonstrated when she had a very private painting commissioned for her sweetheart.

The couple had been married for 4 years in 1843 and had already had 3 of their 9 children by the time Queen Victoria had a very special painting ordered from royal artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The painting was a gift from Queen Victoria to her husband Prince Albert for his 24th birthday.

In her journals, she referred to this painting as Prince Albert’s favorite, referring to it as the “secret painting,” and we can see why. The scandalous painting depicts the queen with her hair cascading from her chignon over her bare shoulders, which was extremely unusual for a 19th-century woman, let alone a queen. The distant look in her eyes makes her appear languid and lovesick, which was also a scandalous thing to document at the time.

It’s no secret that the two had a famously romantic (and sometimes volatile) relationship, and she was heartbroken when he died at such a young age that she wanted special things made for him. We just didn’t expect it to be so racy! The painting was never displayed for more than 150 years. However, it was recently displayed to the public at Buckingham Palace1