3-097-633 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Isabella II and her General Staff on horseback, c1862. This large group portrait is an idealised representation of the General Staff of the Spanish Army. In the centre is Queen Isabella II (1830-1904) in the uniform of Captain General, wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece around her neck and the sash of the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III; she also wears the Grand Crosses of Charles III and Isabella the Catholic. The queen leads the procession riding side-saddle, accompanied by her husband, Francisco de Asís de Borbón y Borbón Dos Sicilias, also in the uniform of captain general, and by Francisco de Paula, Infante of Spain. Also present are some of the military figures who played a role in the final years of Isabella II's reign: Narváez, O'Donnell, and Prim, who appear prominently alongside other generals who had already died by the time the work was created, such as Diego de León and Palafox.