Bicentenary of Queen Victoria’s birth marked by Kensington Palace exhibitions
The 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth is being celebrated at her childhood home, Kensington Palace, with the opening of two major new exhibitions.
Victoria: Woman and Crown and Victoria: A Royal Childhood begin on Friday to coincide with the bicentenary.
Queen Victoria, who was born on May 24 1819, was previously the longest-reigning monarch in British history before she was overtaken by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015.
Woman and Crown explores the private life behind the monarch’s carefully-controlled public image.
It aims to “re-introduce Victoria as a young woman” and explore her roles as a queen, wife, mother and empress.
Watch as the kokoshnik tiara is transformed into a necklace!💎 This tiara was worn by Princess Louise, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Its design was in vogue in the late C19th. See the tiara at #KensingtonPalace. The #Victoria200 displays open on 24 May: https://t.co/KUA5aL7FTcpic.twitter.com/F8VQlxaoQ5
— Historic Royal Palaces (@HRP_palaces) May 22, 2019
Rare surviving pieces from the 19th-century monarch’s wardrobe are on show at the palace for the first time – including a simple cotton petticoat dated to around the time of her marriage and a fashionable pair of silver boots.
Monarch for more than 63 years, Victoria acceded to the throne in 1837 when she was only 18.
Britain had evolved into a constitutional monarchy and she became the figurehead of a vast empire, with her reign spanning the rest of the century.
She married Prince Albert and had nine children, but mourned Albert’s early death for the rest of her life.
Victoria first met Albert on 18 May 1836 at #KensingtonPalace. She recorded in her diary: “Albert is extremely handsome… but the charm of his countenance is his expression, which is delightful.” Two new exhibitions open on 24 May for #Victoria200: https://t.co/KUA5aL7FTcpic.twitter.com/y7q9XIzgix
— Historic Royal Palaces (@HRP_palaces) May 18, 2019
The display also explores Victoria’s complex love affair with India, from the story behind the Koh-i-noor diamond to her friendship with the deposed Maharajah Duleep Singh.
Examples of her personal diaries carefully inscribed in Urdu will form a centrepiece.
The Victoria: A Royal Childhood exhibition allows visitors to follow a route through the suite of rooms in the west London royal residence where the young Victoria was born and spent her childhood.
New research by curators at Historic Royal Palaces has been used to reimagine the rooms as they would have been when Victoria was a child.
“The colours were so bright and – to modern eyes – discordant, that Lee had moments of self-doubt…” Chief Curator @Lucy_Worsley gives us a peek into the redecoration of Queen Victoria’s childhood rooms at #KensingtonPalace: https://t.co/HgEFnaeMGn#Victoria200 opens tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/ZieXyYbcAE
— Historic Royal Palaces (@HRP_palaces) May 23, 2019
– Victoria: Woman and Crown and Victoria: A Royal Childhood are open daily from May 24 and entry is included in palace admission tickets.