Discovering the secret life of Queen Victoria since 2018
Until the Victorian era Christmas was a reasonably uncelebrated festival amongst the ordinary people. However, in the 1840s, something changed. The publication of Charles Dickens’ novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ on 19th December 1843 not only brought people’s attention to the religious event, but also created a new perspective on the joys that the otherwise depressing… Continue reading 1832: Christmas with Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace
In the evening of 30th November 1936, the Crystal Palace was tragically destroyed by fire, exactly 85 years after it housed the 1851 Great Exhibition. Designed by botanist, Joseph Paxton, the Crystal Palace was made of iron beams and 300,000 panes of glass, which helped preserve the pre-existing trees in Hyde Park where the exhibition… Continue reading The Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust RCIN 980045.g For this week’s Sketchbook Saturday we’re stepping into nature and looking at this watercolour sketch by Queen Victoria of some cattle near sitting Sandpit Gate in Windsor Great Park on 10th July 1874. According to the Queen’s journal the morning had been seasonably… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 25
Christmas at Osborne House, 20th November 2025 © Shannon McInulty / Queen.Victoria.Roses Christmas had always been a special time for Queen Victoria as a child; with decorated trees, sugary treats, lavish gifts and trips to the theatre. However, Christmas 1840 was much more poignant as she was no longer the ‘unmarried girl’ who had spent… Continue reading 1840: Queen Victoria’s first Christmas as a wife and mother
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust RCIN 980024.f This Sketchbook Saturday we’re looking at this pen and ink sketch by Queen Victoria of her first child, Princess Victoria, dated 25th August 1841. In her journal for that day Queen Victoria writes that while having their breakfast she and Albert had spent… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 24
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust RCIN 980054.bf As we prepare to enter December, let’s take a look at a wintery sketch by Queen Victoria, which depicts the gardens at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight during a snowstorm on 10th March 1847. In her journal the Queen writes that… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 23
Quite unusually for the time of year, on 10th March 1847 a snowstorm struck Queen Victoria’s Isle of Wight home, Osborne House. In her journal the Queen writes that it had ‘began snowing early & continued all the morning, the ground and trees being covered in snow, which I tried to make a sketch of’… Continue reading ‘The whole accident has upset us’: Tragedy strikes at Osborne House
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust RCIN 980024.az Following on from last week’s Sketchbook Saturday we’re looking at another pencil, watercolour and ink sketch by Queen Victoria her fourth child, Prince Alfred. Dated 11th October 1845, the Prince can be seen in a dark blue dress, decorated with red detailing and… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 22
If you’ve followed my work for a while then you will probably be aware of my love for Queen Victoria’s youngest child, Princess Beatrice. As a historian, I of course have a variety of favourite paintings, many of which I resigned myself to the fact that I would possibly never see in person. This stunning… Continue reading Princess Beatrice of Battenberg by Heinrich von Angeli
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust RCIN 980024.ax This week we’re looking at this intimate pencil, watercolour and ink sketch by Queen Victoria of her third and fourth children, Princess Alice and Prince Alfred. In her journal entry dated 20th September 1845, Queen Victoria writes that she "sketched Alice & Affie… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 21
In October 1849 Queen Victoria and her family were staying at Windsor Castle when illness spread amongst them. The first to fall ill was the thirty-year-old monarch. For seveal days the Queen had felt unwell, with aching limbs, headaches, muscle weakness and difficulty sleeping. However, on 24th October her symptoms began to worsen when a… Continue reading “Dreadful irritation, which is most unpleasant”: Queen Victoria and chickenpox
© Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2025 | Royal Collection Trust RCIN 980043.dj This sketchbook Saturday we’re looking at this stunning watercolour by Queen Victoria, which shows the view near the river Toce in Italy, looking towards the Simplon. Dated 5th April 1879, this beautiful landscape was created by the Queen during a drive with her… Continue reading Sketchbook Saturday, week 20