Some of the earliest Christmas cards to survive in the Royal Collection date from the first half of Queen Victoria’s reign. These were handmade by Queen Victoria’s children and are typical of the sentimental nineteenth century; although in the case of the Queen’s family, everything was preserved and nothing too small to commemorate. The German Christmas was properly introduced into England…
In the Royal Photograph Collection at Windsor is an album which offers a uniquely personal insight into Queen Victoria’s view of what she wanted to treasure in family terms and what deserved special mention in a documentary way. This is the splendid burgundy leather-bound…
Across the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle is a room, clearly visible, jutting out in a pentagon shape amongst the jigsaw of the Clarence, Queen’s, Augusta, York, and Lancaster Towers and King George IV Gate. Part of the private apartments, it was merely called what it…
With 2019 marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, possibly the most symbolic objects to commemorate this historic date, are the baby shoes thought to have been owned by the Queen, which are preserved in the Royal Collection and kept at the Museum of London. The future Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace on 24 May 1819; the shoes date from around 1820.
Queen…
A velvet gown belonging to the Danish-born wife of King Edward VII that has been part of a private collection for more than 60 years has been donated to the Fashion Museum Bath after having spent decades lingering in an attic.
Richly embellished with beads and sequins, the…
The Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace has provided the setting for many historical events, most particularly royal weddings and christenings, most recently that of HRH Prince George of Cambridge in 2013; it is only ever open to the public for religious services. To enter…
In Prince & Patron, the Summer Opening Exhibition at Buckingham Palace, a bust of Prince Albert is displayed, labelled simply as ‘William Theed (1804-91) Prince Albert, 1862; marble.’ But it is no ordinary bust, nor is it just one among other memorial busts commissioned by the Queen. The bust had a unique place in the posthumous sculpture made of Prince Albert and was of quite singular…
An exquisite oil on panel painting by Franz Xavier Winterhalter, that fashionable artist of European court portraiture, is currently on display in Prince & Patron, the Summer Opening Exhibition of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, showcasing some of the personal…
Philippe d’Auvergne’s life was that of a great adventurer. In his life, he rose through the ranks of the Royal Navy, saw service in the American Revolution, earned the confidence of an ageing duke, led the defence of his homeland against the barbarity of the…
It may have taken three years of hard graft, but finally, George IV’s 1823 room has been reformed to its former shining glory.
The room was initially created at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton when George IV was crowned King, following his years as the Prince of Wales.
The saloon displays an array of gorgeous crimson and gold silks along with silver walls, palm trees, gold dragons and…
