Last Tuesday (7th April 2026) I visited Osborne House on the Isle of Wight to see their two new exhibitions: ‘Tradition and Innovation: Victoria’s Final Journey’ and ‘Painters and Patrons: Emma Gaggiotti and Prince Albert’.
Queen Victoria first purchased the Osborne estate and its Georgian house in 1845. Over the next few years Prince Albert had arranged for a new, grander house to be built in its place. With sea views and vast countryside on their doorstep, Osborne offered the perfect retreat for Victoria, Albert and their growing family. It was these happy memories with her family that encouraged Victoria to use Osborne as her main residence following Albert’s death in 1861 and it was here that she passed away in 1901. Following Victoria’s death, Osborne was given to the nation by her eldest son and successor, King Edward VII and became a convalescence home and naval college, whilst the state apartments on the ground floor of the Pavilion Wing (the main building at the centre of the house) opened to the public. In the 1980s the house and grounds were put under the care of English Heritage and, as the convalescence home began shutting down, more of the house was restored to how it would have looked during Victoria’s lifetime before being opened to the public.
Like many country houses, things at Osborne hardly change from year to year, with only the odd painting being moved/replaced. 2019 marked 200 years since the birth of Queen Victoria. To celebrate, English Heritage created an exhibition about how Queen Victoria and Prince Albert spent their birthdays at Osborne, with markers around the house showing which items they had given each other as gifts. As wonderful as this this exhibition was, I cannot express my excitement when I heard that it was to be replaced by TWO new exhibitions.
Tradition and Innovation: Victoria’s Final Journey
The most poignant of the two exhibitions is ‘Tradition and Innovation: Victoria’s Final Journey’, which can be found in the Exhibition Room near where visitors enter the house. A contrast to the previous ‘Royal Birthdays’ exhibition, the new one commemorates the 125 anniversary of the Queen’s passing and focuses on her final days and the events that followed. Whilst this might seem like a sombre addition to a cheerful summer residence, the exhibition is a beautiful introduction into Victoria and Albert’s home as it helps you to not only grieve Osborne’s past owner, but to also understand Victoria’s love of her island home and the significance of her choosing to pass away here. I also feel that it helps visitors, no matter their historical interest, to appreciate the house on a more personal level as they get to see the bed that Victoria’s body lay on before being placed in her coffin and taken downstairs to the Dining Room, where she lay-in-state before leaving her beloved Osborne for the final time on 1st February 1901.
The highlight of the exhibition is a hand-made model, which shows everyone involved in the procession, which took Queen Victoria’s coffin from Osborne to Trinity Pier, where she embarked on her final journey to St George’s Chapel on the mainland. The model was made by island resident, Alan Fyson over the course of 10 years and gives visitors a clear idea of the scale of the pomp and ceremony, which took place in the streets of East Cowes and marked the conclusion of the Victorian era.
Painters and Patrons: Emma Gaggiotti and Prince Albert
Located near the entrance to the grand Durbar Room, the second exhibition, ‘Painters and Patrons: Emma Gaggiotti and Prince Albert’, focuses on works by Italian artist, Emma Gaggiotti. Four of the of the six paintings on display were commissioned by Prince Albert as Christmas gifts for Queen Victoria and have been inspired by the style of Raphael. Whilst some of the paintings have been on display in lesser seen parts of Osborne (mostly along the accessibility route), this is the first time that they have all been displayed together. At the centre of the exhibition is a self-portrait of the little-known artist, which was given by the Queen to her husband. Whilst this exhibition is small, it gives a unique insight into the artistic tastes of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Whether there are exhibitions or not, I will always recommend that people visit Queen Victoria’s island home but these new exhibitions are truly fascinating and will help anyone to fall in love with Osborne’s story.
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2026
Want to be notified about new content? Subscribe to my website to receive email updates!
This article is the intellectual property of Queen.Victoria.Roses and should not be COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances unless permission is given by the author
