A representation of two consecutive moments in the ceremony at the Church of the Royal Monastery of San Jerónimo in Madrid on 23 September 1789, when the future King Fernando VII (1784-1833) was sworn in as Prince of Asturias: his religious oath as successor to the Throne, and the moment when he kisses the hand of his father, the King.

The Prince can be seen kneeling in front of Cardinal Lorenzana and before his father, Carlos IV (1748-1819), who is next to Queen María Luis de Parma (1751-1818) under the canopy on the right. Despite the large size of this work, Paret depicts the moment with a high degree of both pictorial and historical detail. He may have obtained the pertinent information from La Gaceta de Madrid, a newspaper that described the event. There is a preparatory drawing for the entire composition at the Louvre Museum in Paris.