New project and ‘The Young Victoria’ book review

Over the last few days I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with new Queen Victoria themed ideas – and it’s finally happened! While I don’t plan on revealing what it is for a while, I will be sharing sneak peeks into the project, as well as giving reviews of the books I have used to aid my research. 

‘The Young Victoria’ by Deirdre Murphy was published on 14th May 2019 to commemorate the 200th birthday of Queen Victoria. In 2016 Deirdre, who had been Senior Curator at Kensington Palace for fifteen years, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite beating it by the end of the year, the cancer returned a year later, and this time it was terminal. Deirdre tragically died on 23rd May 2018, a year before Queen Victoria’s bicentenary and the expected release of her book.  On Deirdre’s request, Tracey Borman – Joint Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces – took on the challenge of completing the book. With the help of her colleagues at Historic Royal Palaces and Yale University Press, the book was finished and released a year later. 

At the time of its release, I was only a year into running my instagram account, Queen.Victoria.Roses, and my research on the young queens life was minimal. Although I had spent months counting down to its release, I didn’t get a copy until copy until the following Christmas. I can still remember the excitement of unwrapping it and looking through for the first time. since that moment, the book has lived on my shelf and hasn’t moved beside the odd reorganisation – until now! 

Immediately I knew ‘The Young Victoria’ would be a great source for information. From the first page is filled with facts and photos that I’ve never come across in my five years of research. The way that Deirdre, Tracey and the team have worded the information brings the story to life in your mind. For the first time I could picture a young Princess Victoria playing and learning at Kensington. The book doesn’t just focus on the Princess, it also covers her parents, aunts, uncles, governesses, tutors and so many more. 

The book starts with her birth and continues through to her becoming Queen in 1837, when aged just 18. The final chapter is all about Victoria revisiting her childhood after the death of her mother, in March 1861; when she realised that maybe her childhood hadn’t been as ‘melancholy’ as she had recalled. 

I definitely recommend this book if you want to better your understanding and Knowledge of Victoria’s time at Kensington Palace. I personally can’t wait to read on and find out more about the queens life! 

You can visit Queen Victoria’s childhood rooms at Kensington Palace, including the room she was born, when it reopens to the public on 5th April 2023. Click here to book tickets.

If you can’t get a copy of the book or visit the palace, don’t worry as I will  be sharing some of my findings on instagram over the next few months, as well as photos and information from my trip to the palace later in the year  

Don’t forget to follow me on instagram and here for updates on this project, as well as daily posts and blog posts about Queen Victoria, her family and reign

If you would like to support my research and the work I do on instagram, please feel free to donate and all funds will go towards buying more research materials and trips to historical sites. You can also visit my Ko-fi shop, where you will find a selection of books and prints about Queen Victoria. Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read this post and for following the work I do