A watercolour showing studies of trees, possibly executed under the tutelage of WL Leitch. Studies of trees and bushes are shown across the sheet. A single study of a tree is shown to the right, with wooded landscapes shown to the left.

The Queen was a talented amateur artist, having studied with Edward Lear, Edwin Landseer, Franz Xaver Winterhalter and William Leitch. She was particularly competent at watercolour, encouraged by Leitch’s patient instruction. A number of practice sheets by the Queen survive, showing her practising Leitch’s lessons, among them these studies of trees.

Text adapted from Victoria & Albert: Art & Love, London, 2010