The view is of crowded shipping in the roadstead at Cherbourg, partly looking over the town, from the Fort du Roule (on the right), which flies the French tricoleur. The time is shortly after the arrival of the Royal Yacht 'Victoria and Albert II' at 7 p.m. having been preceded from Portsmouth by the slower ships of the naval escort. This had sailed from Spithead at 5 a.m., but had been joined by the 'Victoria and Albert II' (which embarked the Queen and Prince Consort from Osborne at noon) for the formal arrival. There are several small French steamers heading out of the harbour at lower centre. The leading one, which has just turned right past the pier lighthouse, is carrying the Emperor Napoleon III towards the 'Victoria and Albert II' to greet the Queen on board at 8 p.m., round a near-impenetrable mass of yachts - many British - and other vessels. The Royal Yacht (with two red funnels) is moored between the two lines of the British escort, and like all the other moored vessels has her bow to the left. Immediately behind her is the flagship of the British escort, the 121-gun three-decker 'Royal Albert', under Admiral Lord Lyons. The two-decker, 91-gun 'Renown' is immediately astern (both ships being steam-auxiliary powered). Beyond the far line of British men-of-war is a line of French warships, the largest of which is the French flagship 'Bretagne': the Queen and Prince dined on board her with the Emperor the next day (5 August, see BHC0637). All the French ships are saluting, as are the forts situated to the left of the harbour, on the breakwater which lies parallel to and beyond the French line, and on the islet at far right. Hanging in the sky over the shipping are three aeronautical (gas) balloons, one yellow, one green with a plume of smoke from its basket, and one red. The painting is signed, lower right, on the stone parapet at the bottom of the picture: 'A. W. Fowles Ryde [Isle of Wight] 1858'.