Queen Victoria

Not an inch of the wall space is without embellishment. A stucco frieze of classical figures in rose pink and white stretches above the ornate doorway into the State Rooms. Stone caryatids gaze down from pedestals against stencilled blue and white patterns.

The newly gilded banister rail supports young men in uniform or Scottish dress, and women in swirling crinolines holding fans – a very necessary item. Ladies-in-waiting to the Queen would have been instructed what to wear, and were often dressed in white, similar to the group of young women on the left hand stairs. Surrounding the whole, full-length portraits of members of her family and chosen by the Queen herself, line the walls overhead.

By this time, Albert had the finances and organisation well in hand. Buckingham Palace had made a start towards realising the vision that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had of what it should be.

The artist, shows the orchestra in the background, crammed in behind a red velvet barricade, with onlookers confined behind a line of attendants in front of them. The Queen and Prince Albert stand on the right, dressed as Charles II and his Queen, Catherine of Braganza. Eugène Lami designed the Queen’s costume himself. The royal couple receive the homage of two of the dancers of the specially choreographed quadrilles, English, Scottish, French and Spanish – the other pairs parading on behind them. Regarding the Queen, with hats doffed in respect, stand two young pageboys. Overhead are the glittering chandeliers that are still to be seen in the Throne Room today and at the end of the room, an enormous royal coat-of-arms under a canopy.

Supper was served in the State Dining Room at midnight, the buffet tables laid with magnificent gold plate. The menu included soup, pâtés, plovers’ eggs, sixty or seventy entrées (hot dishes), and several elaborate desserts including moulded, sugary set-pieces. In case anyone starved, a dozen different types of sandwiches were provided.

Dressed in the most romantic of costume, tail coats and crinolines, elegant couples stand ready to dance the quadrille, others casually converse, or – perhaps the most welcome addition to their comfort – take a moment’s rest on the red velvet banquettes on either side of the room. Each exquisite gown is subtly different, frills, flounces, flowers - though white is favoured, probably at the request of the Queen.

Overhead sparkling gas chandeliers hang down from a coffered and decorated ceiling. Around the sides of the room, the candelabra - brought up from the Royal Pavilion in Brighton – glow with flickering candles, so the heat would still have been tremendous. Below, the silk wall lining is a blend of colour – seen from one angle it was red, from another it gleamed yellow. Within the diamond shapes were woven small floral sprigs of roses, thistles and shamrocks, the symbols of Great Britain.

The Queen can just be made out, seated under the high arch at the end of the room. A mosaic image of Britannia is above her head, and on the arch itself on either side a winged gryphon gazes up at a figure representing on the left, History, and on the right, Fame. At the top, two angels with trumpets recline, their heads turned towards a crowned, central roundel containing a white relief of Victoria and Albert, decorated with gold.

In addition, it shows how - as part of the alterations made for George III - the north wall (facing us in this view) was repainted with trompe-l’oeil architectural recesses, particularly the central one surrounding the door to the Saloon.

The door itself had been introduced by Chambers in the 1760s; its insertion must have involved the destruction of some of Laguerre’s murals. The new fictive architecture provided a suggestion of architectural relief and grandeur in this area which was previously absent.

Responsibility for the painting may have lain with William Oram, an employee of the Office of Works who restored Verrio’s King’s Stair at Hampton Court at around the same time. The door at left on the first-floor landing led to the Queen’s Breakfast Room.

At the foot of the stairs a small part of the Entrance Hall is shown, with its freestanding columnar supports and paintings by Canaletto and other Venetian masters adorning the walls. Catalogue entry adapted from George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste, London, 2004

Provenance

Probably acquired by George IV

William Simpson, who had been a war artist in the Crimea, records the joy, patriotic fervour and no doubt relief of the Royal party on the balcony, the crowd of onlookers, some pressed against the Palace wall itself, and not least, the men themselves.

The fervour is unmistakable – the Guard’s bearskins are hoisted on to rifle points, the little drummer boy with his backpack clutches his drumsticks to wave his. The Royal party lean over the balcony and, like the crowd, wave handkerchiefs.

The impeccable line of soldiers disappears into the distance, the regimental colours (regimental flag) carried among them. The noise and bustle are palpable. Later, in her diary, the Queen wrote of the event: ‘The worn and tattered colours were amazingly spontaneously cheered, several being crowned with laurels and flowers’.

Duck houses have been provided as safe nesting places near the shore. An island has been created in the centre – the bridge leading on to it is hidden behind the trees. The figures on the island are said to be Queen Victoria and Prince Albert themselves. Those on the far bank are probably a nurse and a footman.

The water birds in the painting are mainly indigenous, but Prince Albert had a great interest in wild life and bought for the gardens all sorts of rare birds and animals. Queen Victoria records his feeding the birds from the island.

The Mound rising up on the far right was formed from rubble and soil from the excavation of the lake. The path on it leads to a summerhouse pavilion barely visible in the distance. The whole design of the garden focused on a sense of tranquillity achieved by long vistas and the careful displaying of ancient trees, at the same time allowing for study and appreciation of the natural world.

Stanley’s painting shows the West Front of Buckingham Palace, glowing in the sun, with an orangery on the left. Just in front of it, a tiny figure in a pink skirt holds a parasol. This is thought to be Victoria herself, with an unusually restrained Dash on a lead.

The lawn that borders the lake close to the Palace appears to be well tended, but in the foreground, on either side, there are signs of the encroaching wilderness that faced Prince Albert on his arrival for his marriage to Victoria in 1840.

Over it, the Royal Standard flutters bravely in the wind, while the sheep in the foreground and various water birds on the lake add to the almost rural atmosphere, while crowds of people roam through the Park to stand outside the Palace perhaps hoping for a glimpse of royalty, in the same way as crowds wait in their thousands for Her Majesty the Queen today.

Prince Albert passed on his passionate interest in the natural sciences to both the Queen and their children. At Osborne House, their summer residence on the Isle of Wight, each of the Princes and Princesses had their own small patch of garden that they learned to tend themselves.

Friedrich Keyl, the maker of these delicate drawings was a pupil of Edwin Landseer, the great portrayer of animals and a favourite artist of Queen Victoria. Keyl went on to make many portraits of the royal pets but also of the farm animals they kept on their more rural estates.

Prince Albert loved organ music and played it well, so it’s possible he that saved the instrument from destruction when the Royal Pavilion at Brighton was sold. A great deal of work was needed, with several parts of the organ being renewed including the bellows, some of the metal pipes, stop knobs and key jambs and an organ stool that cost £28, approximately £3,000 in today’s money.

The organ case was painted and gilded with delicate patterns. Supports were erected for the two carved figures representing Music to sit on top of the organ case. In the spandrels, on either side of the arch of the organ are gilded medallions of Handel, the great German composer who lived and worked in England for many years. He was an organist of repute himself and composed organ concertos that Prince Albert probably knew well.

The organ was heard publicly for the first time on 2 July 1855, when Queen Victoria gave a concert to inaugurate ‘the new Ball and Concert-room.’ By this time, not only the Queen was keeping a pictorial record of events, but also reviews, journals and above all popular prints were covering them for the public. Buckingham Palace was reaching the people.

The Queen was deeply moved by the sufferings of the troops in the Crimea, which caused Prince Albert to suggest the institution of a medal. She and the Prince had been against the war at the outset, but once under way, she took an intense interest in its progress but above all, in the well-being of the troops, both in the army and the navy.

The medal has a pale blue ribbon with yellow edges and a 36 mm silver disk. The head of the Queen is shown in profile on the obverse, and on the reverse is an image of a Roman soldier being crowned with a laurel wreath by a personification of Victory. Each medal bears clasps depicting an oak leaf with an acorn at each end, and is inscribed with the names of those actions in which the recipient had been involved: Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, Sebastopol and Azoff - though to find a medal with all five clasps, as in the image, is extremely rare.

When the Queen’s married Prince Albert in 1840, the lack of nurseries and guest bedrooms became clear; Albert reorganised the Palace – no doubt getting the chimneys swept as a priority. The solution to the space problem was to move the Marble to its current location. A fourth wing took its place, joining the two side wings and creating an open quadrangle in the interior. In the centre of the new wing and facing the public, was the balcony.

The work was completed in 1847. The enormous cost of the building was offset by the sale of The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which Queen Victoria disliked intensely. Many of the interior decorative items like chandeliers and candelabra were saved and installed at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences.

The lithograph shows not only the change in the architecture of the Palace, but also the change in the environment in the fifteen years since Victoria had moved in. The image is much more urban in mood. The tall gas lamps installed both on the gateways and in and outside the courtyard are still in use today and at the centre of the building’s façade is the Prince’s all-important balcony above the central archway.

The War had broken out in 1854 and wasn’t yet over, so it seems likely that many of the men gathered on the lawn have been injured in the fighting and brought home – the sunny afternoon in such idyllic surroundings a great contrast to the terrible scenes they would have witnessed in battle.

A semi circle of regimental bandsmen in white jacket, scarlet trousers and black shakos, entertain the crowd. Many are seated, which would perhaps suggest that the Queen hasn’t yet arrived. Not all the veterans are soldiers. Sailors stand about, one prominent with his back to us in his white bell-bottoms, blue top and black sennit hat.

On such occasions the table was laid with silver gilt from George IV's collection. This watercolour shows the Christening Banquet held by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert for their son Prince Leopold (1853–84), in 1853.

Large shell tureens made by Rundells for George IV's Grand Service were used, shown here on the table in this watercolour. A large array of gilt plate was also displayed on the far wall.

To the left, Princess Alice is supported by a female attendant, with another figure in uniform to the left. The children play in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, surrounded by exotic birds and with a view of the Chinese Summer House in the background. With English inscription below, including publisher's address, 'Dean & Co. Threadneedle Street.'

Roger Fenton made a group portrait of the Royal Family in the grounds of Buckingham Palace on 22 May 1854, and, with so many small, unrestrained children to photograph, he wisely decided to make the exposure instantaneously.

The result approaches a snapshot both in size and in style, but it really does not succeed as an informal portrait, because the Queen's pose and the gaze of the children suggest a carefully prearranged moment.

Provenance

From an album of photographs collected and arranged by Prince Albert