“We are quite enchanted”: Queen Victoria visits Osborne House for the first time

In the early 1840s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert began looking for a new country home where they could bring up and embrace time with their growing family. Like many visitors, Victoria soon fell in love with Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. However, she set about buying the house and estate before she had even seen it.

When she ascended the throne in 1837, Queen Victoria was aged just eighteen and lived with her mother at Kensington Palace. After years of control under the strict ‘Kensington System’, Victoria’s first request was for some time alone, beginning her lifelong urge for privacy at home. As the monarch, Queen Victoria was given three residences in which she could live. The oldest of the three was, of course, Windsor Castle. Victoria, however, much preferred to stay at Buckingham House (now known as Buckingham Palace) as she was closer to parliament. But despite the practicality of its location, Queen Victoria hated the constant noise and bustle of London, so instead spent much time at her third residence, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.

For a while the Royal Pavilion suited the needs of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Not only was it easy for them to get to from London, the pleasure grounds and nearby coast offered them much more freedom than they had in the capital. However, there were a few issues. Firstly, it lacked space. By 1843 Victoria and Albert already had three children and it wouldn’t be long before the queen gave birth to a fourth. Whilst they enjoyed their time at the Pavilion, it didn’t offer them the right environment to comfortably raise their family. The second issue is perhaps the most profound as it lacked the one characteristic that Victoria valued most… privacy. Located just minutes away from the seafront, the Pavilion was constantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of both locals and tourists, who Victoria complained would relentlessly stare at her and her family.

 

By October 1843 Victoria had had enough and decided it was time to search for a new country home. Over the next few months she and Albert looked into leasing various properties around the country, although very few matched their high standards. In February 1844 the search concluded when the Hampshire Advertiser shared a listing for ‘Osborne House and Park, with Barton Farm, near East Cowes’ on the Isle of Wight. The wording alone proved that Osborne would be a perfect contender. Not only did Osborne provide them with a family home, but the vast parkland offered them the privacy they desired, with the benefit of their own private beach, to stroll around without getting mobbed. What makes it better is that Victoria had stayed in East Cowes several times as a child and knew what the island had to offer. Over the coming months Victoria and Albert, encouraged by Sir Robert Peel, regularly debated the prospect of purchasing Osborne. In March 1844, Albert made his first trip across the Solent to inspect their future home. Upon returning, Victoria described him as being ‘much pleased with Osborne, its advantages, its size’ and most importantly, ‘its privacy’. Like the Royal Pavilion, it was clear that the existing house would be too small to comfortably house their growing family, household and staff. However, this wasn’t an issue and it was decided that ‘with some few alterations & additions for the Children, it might be made an excellent home’. (1)

 

Whilst Albert visited Osborne again in the August, Victoria didn’t visit until 15^th October 1844. Despite the heavy rain and rough sea, Victoria was instantly charmed by her new home. Just as she had desired, the ‘grounds are delightfully private… I am delighted with the house, all over which we went, & which is so complete & snug. The rooms are small, but very nice… We walked out a little, & the ground are charming & very extensive, with a great slope down to the sea, a beautiful view. All seemed like a dream to me’. (2)

Although they only remained at Osborne for a matter of days, it had truly encapsulated the hearts of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, with the queen instantly longing to return. As the months passed, the couple continued to seek advice from Robert Peel. Not only were they planning to buy their new home, but plans on how to alter it were already coming into fruition. In March 1845, the sale process was fully underway and the queen was ‘feeling very nervous, as we shall wither get it or lose it’ (3). Just two days later on 20th March came the ‘excellent piece of news’ (4) that the Blanchfords for sell the property for £26,000’* (they actually paid £28,000 for the Osborne estate). Much to Victoria’s pleasure, the sale was processed another two days, prompting Victoria to excitedly write in her journal ‘we may look upon Osborne as our own property, which is a great satisfaction’. (5)

With the sale complete, plans were instantly made for the Queen, Prince Albert and their eldest child, Princess Victoria, to visit their brand new home. Having arrived at Gosport at 1 o’clock on 29^th March, the royal party travelled across the Solent in their personal yacht, the ‘Victoria and Albert’, before arriving at Osborne at three. In her journal Victoria writes ‘we are so happy with our dear little home, which is so lovely, so peaceful & so delightful. The sun was so bright, the sky & sea like a turquoise, the air so balmy. The peace is really charming, – the undulating ground, the sea, – the view house looking across… we are quite enchanted with it’ (6). Following some lunch, the family walked freely down to their very own beach, where they entertained themselves collecting shells, thus beginning their lifetime of private and family oriented happiness on the island.

 © Queen.Victoria.Roses 2026

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Citation:

(1) RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 18 March 1844 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 15 October 2026. Royal Collection Trust / © King Charles III

(2) RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 15 October 1844 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 15 October 2026. Royal Collection Trust / © King Charles III

(3) RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 18 March 1845 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 15 October 2026. Royal Collection Trust / © King Charles III

(4) RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 20 March 1845 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 15 October 2026. Royal Collection Trust / © King Charles III

(5) RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 22 March 1845 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 15 October 2026. Royal Collection Trust / © King Charles III

(6) RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) 29 March 1845 (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES) retrieved 15 October 2026. Royal Collection Trust / © King Charles III

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