This portrait is inspired by an image of a princess of European origin. 

It could have been an official photograph taken of her in the thirties. Almost a state portrait, the scion of the royal family in her natural habitat. 

The drawing room is furnished in an old-fashioned manner. We may be in a rich burgher's or aristocrat's home in the twenties, with a slightly dated interior. Potted plants, heavy velvet curtains and upholstery. 

I made her more beautiful than she is, this princess, and I gave her a purpose that was absent in the photograph. She reads attentively, conveying that she is a serious student, keen to be knowledgeable and clever, rather than idle and ceremonial.