Leonard Wyon sketched Queen Victoria's six eldest children in the early part of 1850. Prince Arthur was born on 1 May of that year, and Wyon seems to have added his portrait to the set in the summer, when Arthur was a few months old. A set of drawings show Leonard Wyon's facility at portraying children, which he did with great vivacity. The set includes four sketches of Prince Albert Edward and the Princesses Victoria, Alice and Louise.

An entry in Queen Victoria's Journal for 8 November 1851 notes that 'Mrs Wyon brought the medals of the Children … I grieve to say that the excellent, talented man, Mr Wyon, who modelled the medals, is no longer alive'. She was referring to William Wyon (1795-1851), Leonard's father, who had died on 29 October. Leonard Wyon collaborated with his father on the prize medals for the Great Exhibition with conjoined busts of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

The medals of the children were shown at the Great Exhibition where Leonard Wyon was awarded a prize of £100 in 'the general competition of designs for the Great Exhibition medals'; the design was adopted for the second prize medal. Wyon's wax models for the medals, mounted on slate, are also in the Royal Collection (RCIN 37126). Silvered versions were used in the frieze of a jewel casket designed by Ludwig Gruner.

Text from Victoria & Albert: Art & Love.