In widowhood, Queen Victoria sought the comfort and reassurance of those she trusted most in her family and household. This portrait shows the queen with her youngest son and two youngest daughters, all of whom shared the role of companion to their mother by acting as her unofficial secretary. On the left, Princess Louise (1848–1939) reads a pamphlet while Prince Leopold (1853–84) stands immediately to her right. The Duke of Argyll (1845–1914), who married Princess Louise in 1871, stands second from the right with Princess Beatrice (1857–1944) seated in front of him. Soon after this photograph was taken, the Duke of Argyll was appointed Governor General of Canada, a post he was to hold until 1883.