Kensington Palace, London
Victoria and her four eldest children (Vicki, Bertie, Alice and baby Alfred)
Currently Kensington Palace has two exhibitions on the life of Queen Victoria, one focuses on her childhood at Kensington Palace and the other, her life going into old age. The Victoria: Woman and Crown exhibition will be at Kensington Palace until January 5th, 2020.
All the Kensington Palace exhibitions are included in the price of the entry ticket, I wanted to see the childhood exhibition first so began there. This exhibition I was able to see later (as well as other parts of the palace that are open to visitors)
Ball gown of the young adult Queen Victoria.
Queen Victoria's petticoat, the measurements exactly correspond to her wedding dress so may have been worn beneath it.
Portrait of the elderly queen.
Dress worn by Queen Victoria in her old age.
Bust of Prince Albert.
After Albert died Queen Victoria wore black for the rest of her life. The bust was a gift to her eldest son Edward Albert, later King Edward VII. The jewellery is loaned to the exhibition by Queen Elizabeth II. The locket Victoria wore as it contained strands of Albert's hair, the charm bracelet she wore daily and when she lay dying at Osborne House she asked that the bracelet be placed in the Blue Room at Windsor which was her shrine to Albert.
Outfits wore by Queen Victoria, her grandson Edward (future Edward VIII) and Queen Alexandra.
Queen Alexandra's dress was worn by her to her grandson Edward's christening in 1894. It was originally purple in colour. Alexandra had a tiny waist!!
Practice painting for original
I found this painting and the story behind it interesting. Queen Victoria commissioned Danish artist Laurits Regner Tuxen to paint a family portrait for her Golden Jubilee in 1887. She had seen the one he had done for the Danish royal family. He first did some practice sketches, this painting is one of them, all the faces are either not done or indistinct. Queen Victoria's youngest daughter Beatrice was made to pose for all the females in the painting. Tuxen then relied on photos and sketches to complete the faces in the finished painting.
Balmoral tarten and Victoria's sketch books.
Prince Albert designed the Balmoral tartan in 1853, after he died Victoria would wrap herself up in shawls that were made with the tartan. The sketch books were a sign that she was coming out of her deep grief over Albert's death. Her sketching again meant that she had slowly begun to pay attention to the world around her.
Queen Victoria's travelling cape
The parasol and fan were loaned to the exhibition by Queen Elizabeth II. The fan was made for Victoria for her Diamond Jubilee, the parasol was also made for Victoria and the letter V can be seen. When travelling outdoors she also wore a travelling cape and a straw hat that covered her widow's peak.
The Munshi statue
Late in life Victoria became interested in India and employed Indian servants, a favourite being 'The Munshi' Abdul Karim. She commissioned paintings (that can be seen at Osborne House) and statues of him.
An interesting exhibition to be seen in tandem with the childhood one. I enjoyed seeing both and following Victoria as she aged.
Currently Kensington Palace has two exhibitions on the life of Queen Victoria, one focuses on her childhood at Kensington Palace and the other, her life going into old age. The Victoria: Woman and Crown exhibition will be at Kensington Palace until January 5th, 2020.
All the Kensington Palace exhibitions are included in the price of the entry ticket, I wanted to see the childhood exhibition first so began there. This exhibition I was able to see later (as well as other parts of the palace that are open to visitors)
After Albert died Queen Victoria wore black for the rest of her life. The bust was a gift to her eldest son Edward Albert, later King Edward VII. The jewellery is loaned to the exhibition by Queen Elizabeth II. The locket Victoria wore as it contained strands of Albert's hair, the charm bracelet she wore daily and when she lay dying at Osborne House she asked that the bracelet be placed in the Blue Room at Windsor which was her shrine to Albert.
Queen Alexandra's dress was worn by her to her grandson Edward's christening in 1894. It was originally purple in colour. Alexandra had a tiny waist!!
I found this painting and the story behind it interesting. Queen Victoria commissioned Danish artist Laurits Regner Tuxen to paint a family portrait for her Golden Jubilee in 1887. She had seen the one he had done for the Danish royal family. He first did some practice sketches, this painting is one of them, all the faces are either not done or indistinct. Queen Victoria's youngest daughter Beatrice was made to pose for all the females in the painting. Tuxen then relied on photos and sketches to complete the faces in the finished painting.
Prince Albert designed the Balmoral tartan in 1853, after he died Victoria would wrap herself up in shawls that were made with the tartan. The sketch books were a sign that she was coming out of her deep grief over Albert's death. Her sketching again meant that she had slowly begun to pay attention to the world around her.
The parasol and fan were loaned to the exhibition by Queen Elizabeth II. The fan was made for Victoria for her Diamond Jubilee, the parasol was also made for Victoria and the letter V can be seen. When travelling outdoors she also wore a travelling cape and a straw hat that covered her widow's peak.
Late in life Victoria became interested in India and employed Indian servants, a favourite being 'The Munshi' Abdul Karim. She commissioned paintings (that can be seen at Osborne House) and statues of him.
An interesting exhibition to be seen in tandem with the childhood one. I enjoyed seeing both and following Victoria as she aged.
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