‘This festive day’: Queen Victoria’s Christmas 1847

‘This festive day, the eve of such blessings & the day when ever since our childhood we have been happy & joyous, in giving & receiving,’ wrote Queen Victoria as she began her Christmas Ever journal entry in 1847; adding ‘I know no day, or rather more anniversary which we celebrate with more feelings of mutual joy & goodwill’ (1). As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, Christmas had always been a favourite event of Victoria and Albert’s. While Victoria grew up in Britain and Albert in Germany, their childhood Christmases were filled with the same Germanic customs, which they continued when they began their own family in the 1840s. By 1847 Victoria and Albert’s family was half way to its completion. The couple’s fifth and middle child, Princess Helena, had been born in May 1846 and the next child, Princess Louise, was expected to arrive the following March. On top of this the family was settling in to their new home on the Isle of Wight – Osborne House, – which was in the later stages of being built. The family was at its peak happiness and this radiated into their Christmas celebrations.

Like most of us, Christmas was a busy time for the royal family and Victoria had spent many December days ensuring that all her gifts were ready to be displayed on Christmas Eve. The day itself was unpleasantly grey and cold. Following their Christmas tradition and daily habits, the royal couple went on a walk around the frosty gardens at Windsor Castle before returning home for luncheon and to arrange the ‘”Bescherung” & Xmas Trees’ (2). Just as it had the previous year, the main display of trees and gifts was held ‘in the King’s Blue Bedroom’ (3). The gifts here were for the royal children and the Queen’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. ‘It was a pleasure to see the excitement & delight [of the children]’ (4) as they received their ‘heaps of toys,’ (5) wrote the Queen, before her beloved Albert escorted her into the ‘Red King’s Room’ to receive her own gifts from the Duchess of Kent, her children and her husband; from whom she received ‘the original beautiful cartoon by Overbeck of his famous picture of “Religion glorified by the Arts”, — more fine bronzes, also a fine large brooch of one single large pearl set round with diamonds’ (6). Next it was Victoria’s turn to show Albert his gifts, which had been set out in a third room. Amongst his many presents from his wife were ‘and ancient watch’ and two paintings by Sir Edwin Landseer and Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The painting by Landseer gives a beautiful insight into the private life of Victoria and Albert as it depicts Queen Victoria with her two eldest children, Princess Victoria and Prince Albert Edward, at Loch Laggan in Scotland. The royal couple had first visited Scotland in 1842 and the wild landscape immediately captured their hearts. This painting was commissioned by the Queen during their stay in Scotland in august and September 1847. The Queen came up with the composition of the painting, which she described in extreme detail to Prince Albert’s secretary, George Anson, on 4^th September:

The Queen wished for ‘a Cabinet Picture in size, representing a dead Stag, with the back ground taken from the Scenery close here — the Lake with some of the most known Hills — a Highlander should be near the deer, & perhaps the Prince of Wales in his kilt, & herself might be represented looking at it; but he might paint them in, without any attempt at likeness… It need not be an elaborate picture, but the Queen anxiously wishes to have it for Xmas Eve… But great secrecy must be observed.’ (10)

Victoria and Albert would not purchase Balmoral Castle until 1852 but this early gift foreshadows Scotland’s place in the family’s future. In her journal for this family festival, Victoria writes that, just as she had hoped, Albert was happy with his gifts and was delighted by the thoughtfulness behind the paintings.

Following tradition, once the royal family had each received their own gifts, the family joined the rest of their household in the ‘Oak Room’, where they received their lavish presents, once again laid out on tables beneath decorated trees. They then were taken on a tour of the royal gift tables. Afterwards spending time back in the ‘King’s Blue Bedroom’, where Victoria watched her children excitedly play with their new toys. With the main festivities over, Victoria spent some time gathering her energy and preparing for the lavish Christmas Eve dinner, to which she wore her new pear brooch, along with ‘other dear gifts from former Christmases.’ (7)

The following day was, of course, Christmas Day and like before, the weather remained incredibly miserable and cold, with the addition of wet fog. At 11am the family attended their annual Christmas Day service, with classic Christmas hymns and wind instruments, which added a festive touch. As many of us do today, Victoria and Albert spent the rest of the day embracing time with their growing family, whilst their young children marvelled over their newest presents including; a miniature Barouche (carriage), which had been a gift from Dowager Queen, Adelaide. ‘The 3 girls seated themselves inside, while the 2 Boys sat, the one on the box, & the other standing up behind, the Gentlemen dragging the carriage up & down the Corridor to their intense joy,’ (8) wrote Victoria as she immortalised this precious scene of childhood joy. The Queen also notes that she spent some time talking to her two eldest children of ‘the meaning of the great festival, & read to them park of the account of the birth of Our Saviour’ (9). As always, a large Christmas dinner was held before an evening of merriment commenced.

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