The Installation of His Imperial Majesty as Knight of the Garter.

A view of the interior of the Throne Room at Windsor Castle, showing the Emperor Napoleon III receiving the Order of the Garter from Queen Victoria in May 1855. The Knights are gathered around a long velvet covered table, with the Queen, Prince Albert and the Emperor at the far end, and the Empress Eugenie, with her daughters and ladies seated in the foreground on the right, observing the ceremony. Although Napoleon’s visit was inspired by political considerations, it led to a warm and close friendship between the Queen and the Emperor. After the Emperor’s visit to Windsor, the Queen wrote ‘That he is a very extraordinary man with great qualities there can be no doubt’.