The state rooms of Buckingham Palace are open to the public each summer, granting access to the throne room, ballroom, picture galleries and other grand rooms in one of the world's most famous palaces. To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, a special exhibition "Queen Victoria’s Palace" has just opened at Buckingham Palace (runs until 29 September 2019) that tells the story of how the young monarch turned an unloved royal residence into the center of the social, cultural and official life of the country.
Buckingham Palace was opened to the public for the first time in the summer of 1993 with a plan of using the entrance fee to pay for 70% of the £40 million cost of restoring Windsor Castle, damaged by fire in November 1992. The summer opening proved to be a tremendous success and a major tourist attraction that continues annually even though the repair costs have no doubt long since been recovered. This year's "Queen Victoria's Palace" exhibition has opened with a flourish this month showcasing objects, furniture and costumes from the Royal Collection that paint an engaging portrait of Queen Victoria, her family and their life in Buckingham Palace during the nineteenth-century. Highlights include Thomas Sully's famous painting of the eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria soon after she moved into Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria's own artworks and a recreation of the ballroom along with a 3D installation of dancers waltzing to Verdi's "La Triviata."
Much of the Palace, with its 775 rooms, including the Queen Elizabeth's private apartments, has remained closed but there are certainly enough rooms open to justify a visit and access to the largest private garden in London is a real treat. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September and on some days in winter and spring. One of the highlights of any visit to the Palace is the impressive picture gallery with many fine artworks on display from the Royal Collection, one of the world's largest art collections. Masterpieces by Rembrandt, Canaletto and Vermeer are just a few of the gems on show. In addition to Buckingham Palace, this art collection is housed in twelve other royal residences and former residences across the UK including Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Hampton Court, the Tower of London, Osborne House and the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.
Queen Victoria ascended to the throne on 20 June 1837, aged eighteen. Just three weeks into her reign, she moved into Buckingham Palace, despite the building being incomplete and many of the rooms undecorated and unfurnished. The Palace had been empty for seven years following the death of Victoria’s uncle, George IV, who had commissioned John Nash to convert Buckingham House into a Palace. King George never occupied the Palace, nor did his successor, William IV, who preferred to live at Clarence House during his short reign. The Queen’s ministers advised her to stay at Kensington Palace, her childhood home, until Buckingham Palace could be brought up to a suitable standard but Victoria insisted on to moving in immediately to begin her new life.
The music, dancing and entertaining that was an important part of Queen Victoria's early years on the throne have been recreated in this exhibition through videos and displays throughout the state rooms. The grand ballroom (the largest room in the palace) is cleverly shown as it was during Victoria's reign with the use of digital projections on the ceilings and the walls showing the original Renaissance-inspired decor. Also in the ballroom is a 3-D video that recreates part of one of the Queen's famous balls. A watercolor by Louis Haghe of the Crimean Ball of 1856 (to mark the end of the war and to honor returning soldiers) was used as the basis of this 3-D video showing four couples performing the opening waltz to Giuseppe Verdi's 'La Traviata.'
Queen Victoria's ball gowns, including the Charles II-style costume for the Stuart Ball of 1851, are on display as is her own sketch of herself and Prince Albert in their Restoration period outfits. During their time together at Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert held three magnificent "themed" costume balls. The costumes were elaborate as guests were encouraged to commission ornate costumes to give work to the Spitalfield silk weavers, whose business was in sharp decline in the mid-nineteenth century.
One surprise in this exhibition was to see that Queen Victoria was a talented artist. English artist Sir George Hayter, the court portraitist, also acted as Queen Victoria's art tutor which no doubt had an impact on the quality of the queen's artwork. A selection of Queen Victoria's drawings and watercolors are on display in the exhibition, including her illustrations of The Stuart Ball on 13 July 1851 with its Restoration period theme. Queen Victoria's costume for the Stuart Ball, designed by the artist Eugène Lami is on display in all its glory with a bodice and full skirt of grey moiré trimmed with gold lace and an underskirt of gold and silver brocade. Other costumes on display include Queen Victoria's gown worn at her coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1838. An album in the exhibition contains eleven drawings by Queen Victoria of her coronation, plus Queen Victoria's own design for her bridesmaids' dresses.
"Queen Victoria’s Palace," a temporary exhibition at Buckingham Palace, is open daily until 29 September 2019. Admission is £25 for adults with concessions available.
