Portrait of Infante Pedro (future Pedro III, King of Portugal)

Infante Pedro (future King Pedro III) is depicted wearing a lilac velvet jacket and waistcoat and displaying the Cross of the Order of Christ with rubies and diamonds. The landscape in the background is a garden with orange-trees, in what is quite possibly an allusion to the gardens of the Palace of Queluz, which he ordered to be built.

The son of King João V and Mariana of Austria, and the brother of King José I, Pedro (1717-1786) inherited the title of the Lord of the Casa do Infantado, whose estate included the Quinta de Queluz. In 1747, work began on the enlargement of this palace, which was soon converted into the royal residence following his marriage to his niece and the heiress to the throne, Queen Maria I (1760).
During the summer months, the royal couple promoted a series of sophisticated festivities in the palace and its gardens, which enjoyed the participation of the court and the diplomatic corps and at which music and water displays were a constant feature.