National Galleries of Scotland

This painting records a June day in 1849 when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert attended a `fete? organised by the Scottish Society of London. They can be seen in the open carriage, watching a performance of a sword dance, which particularly delighted the royal children. Behind them, in the middle of the show ground, a caber-tossing competition is taking place. The bird?s-eye view taken by the artist lends Holland Park a sense of vastness and the innumerable diminutive figures convey an impression of the great crowds ? around 8000 people were said to have attended.