The person who stands in the middle is the Infanta Margarita Teresa of Austria (the princess, daughter of the king and queen). She has two maids of honour, one on each side of her, a chaperone, a bodyguard, two dwarfs and a dog. Velázquez has also painted himself, standing just behind the princess and her companions. He is standing at the artist’s easel. He has stopped painting for a moment and looks straight out at the viewer. At the back of the room is a mirror in which we can see the top halves of the bodies of the king and queen. This means that the king and queen are the viewers who are looking at the painting. The king and queen are probably being painted by Velázquez, but not everybody agrees with this.