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King George III bought Buckingham Palace from Sir Charles Sheffield
on 20th April, 1763. Now, it is revealed that it cost him £28,000
(around £2 million today) – a meagre amount, considering the great
number of rooms and the vastness of the gardens. The title deed,
bearing a portrait of The King and containing the details of his
purchase, is among a number of documents from the Royal Archives on
display at Windsor Castle.
This special exhibition is being held to mark the centenary of the
transfer of the thousands of documents that make up the Royal
Archives to the Round Tower at Windsor Castle in 1914, as ordered
by King George V. Lauren Porter, the curator of Royal Collection
Trust, said: “The 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Royal
Archives at Windsor Castle provides a wonderful opportunity to
explore and exhibit some of the greatest treasures in the
collection of documents.”
“The wide variety of material held in the Royal Archives – from
private correspondence and diaries to official papers – provides a
fascinating insight into the history of the British Monarchy, often
from a very personal perspective.”
Letter from Bonnie Prince Charlie to his father.
The collection includes a letter from seven year-old Bonnie Prince Charlie to his father, Prince James, in which he writes about his life and behaviour during his family’s exile to Rome and a letter from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria during their engagement. Visitors can see the account of the Battle of Rorke, given to Queen Victoria by Major John Chard, and the household accounts of the future Queen Elizabeth I between 1551-1552, with The Princess’s signature at the bottom of each page.
Also on display are the 100th birthday card from The Queen to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; a letter written to Queen Mary by her daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, after Buckingham Palace was bombed during the Second World War and King George VI’s description of the Battle of Jutland.
One document in particular shows the present queen’s – then Princess Elizabeth – opinion of her parents’ 1937 coronation in Westminster Abbey. “I thought it all very, very wonderful and I expect the Abbey did, too. The arches and beams at the top were covered with a sort of haze of wonder as Papa was crowned, at least I thought so,” she wrote. “At the end the service got rather boring as it was all prayers.”
Queen Victoria’s journals are also on display at Windsor Castle.
A new book ‘Treasures From The Royal Archives’ is set to feature over 100 documents from the collection, and serves as an accompaniment to the display.
The exhibition, which started on Saturday, will remain open to the public until January 25th of next year.
Photo credit: Royal Archives / (C) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2014]]>
