For Queen Victoria, Wednesday 20th August 1884 began like any other. The morning was “splendid, but very hot” as she took breakfast under a tree at her beloved Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Then, at 11:30 she received the news that the Abyssinian envoys had arrived with gifts from King John of Abyssinia.… Continue reading An elephant at Osborne: King John of Abyssinia’s unusual gift to Queen Victoria
