Two hundred years after her birth, Queen Victoria is taking over Buckingham Palace again. As part of the celebrations for the bicentenary of the birth of Britain’s second longest reigning monarch, the most famous royal residence of them all will host a special exhibition focusing on the impact Victoria had there.
The display, called Queen Victoria’s Palace, will show visitors how the young queen transformed the London building from an often neglected home into a focal point for the Monarchy and her Royal Family. It will chart the transformations she brought about at the palace and look at how she and her consort, Prince Albert, used it as an official and family residence.
Highlights of the exhibition include one of Victoria’s ballgowns, made for her in 1851 from silk, brocade and lace and inspired by the court of King Charles II. It was created for the Stuart Ball held at Buckingham Palace that year, one of several such events Victoria and Albert hosted there during their marriage. The balls were designed to be showcases for the homegrown textile industry and those invited were encouraged to use British made fabrics in their costumers.
Also on show at the exhibition will be famous portraits from her reign as well as the sparkling Star of the Order of the Bath which she had made.
Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace almost as soon as her reign began. She became queen on June 20th 1837 and quickly left her childhood home at Kensington Palace where she had been kept partly in seclusion by her ambitious and controlling mother. Following her marriage to Prince Albert in February 1840, she transformed the palace into a base for their growing family – eight of their nine children were born there in the following seventeen years.
The exhibition opens on July 20th 2019, the day that the palace throws open its doors to visitors for the summer season. It comes to a close on September 29th 2019 and admission to the Victoria display is included in the ticket price.
