In the 1660s, Lady Castlemaine was the favorite mistress of Charles II. This scene depicts her quarrel with the King, who had 'well-founded suspicions' of her liaison with a suitor, resulting in pregnancy. In this scene, the King is shown begging for forgiveness.
Frith's painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1899 where it was accompanied with an excerpt from the diary of Elisabeth Pepys: „Mr. Pierce, the surgeon, tells Sam that, though the King and Lady Castlemaine are friends again, she is not at Whitehall but at Sir D. Harvey's, whither the King goes to her; but he says she made him ask her forgiveness on his knees, and promise to offend her no more so, and that indeed she hath nearly hectored him out of his wits.“
