Queen Victoria

Princess Victoria was born at Kensington Palace on 24 May 1819.




Queen Victoria´s bedroom in Kensington Palace

During her childhood in Kensington Palace, Princess Victoria often played with her collection of over 130 tiny wooden dolls. She named all of her dolls, many of which are on display at Kensington Palace. Princess Victoria was a talented painter. These are some of her colourful paper dolls 

She began writing a daily journal in August 1832, aged thirteen. The many volumes of her journal, which cover nearly seventy years of her life, are held by the Royal Archives. Princess Victoria became heir to the throne as her uncles, King George IV and King William IV, had no surviving legitimate children. On 20 June 1837, William IV died and Victoria became Queen at the age of 18.

This picture by Sir George Hayter (1792-1871) depicts the Coronation of Queen Victoria at Westminster Abbey on 28 June 1838, aged 18.

Marble Arch before its relocation as the entrance to the newly rebuilt Buckingham Palace.

Just three weeks into her reign, Queen Victoria 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 at great expense the conversion of Buckingham House into a Palace to the designs of John Nash. The King never occupied the Palace, and his successor, William IV, 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 wanted to move immediately and begin her new life.

Queen Victoria first met Prince Albert, her cousin, in 1836, at the suggestion of her uncle King Leopold I of the Belgians, who felt they were suited to each other.

Two days before her wedding, Queen Victoria presented Prince Albert with this spectacular diamond-encrusted garter -It formed part of a set of Order of the Garter insignia, representing England's oldest chivalric order.

The Marriage Ceremony of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert took place in the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, on 10 February 1840.

Over the next 17 years, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert  had nine children. In 1845 it was clear that Buckingham Palace was no longer large enough to accommodate the royal couple’s expanding family. On 10 February that year, Victoria wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, concerning ‘the urgent necessity of doing something to Buckingham Palace’ and ‘the total want of accommodation for our growing little family’. On 13 August 1846, Parliament granted Victoria £20,000 for the completion and extension of Buckingham Palace. Additional funds were raised from the sale of George IV’s seaside retreat, the Royal Pavilion, to Brighton Corporation for £50,000.

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73) in Royal Collection Trust.

Queen Victoria introduced a new era of bridal standards

( Britain´s Royal Weddings)

Eugène- Louis Lami (1800- 1890)
The Grand Staircase at Buckingham Palace, State Ball, 5 July 1848

This watercolour by Louis Haghe(1806-85) shows the second ball to be held in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace, on 17 June 1856. The ballroom was decorated with copies of Raphael’s ‘Hours of the Day’ and illuminated by gaslights on the ceiling and in the windows, as well as a number of gilded bronze candelabra.

Queen Victoria's Costume for the Stuart Ball

During their time together at Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert held three magnificent ‘themed’ costume balls. These occasions were both celebrations of British history and a showcase for the country’s textile industry. Guests were encouraged to commission elaborate costumes to give work to the Spitalfield silk weavers, whose business was in sharp decline. The Stuart Ball of 13 July 1851 had as its theme the Restoration period, with guests dressed in the style of Charles II’s court.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children: Victoria, Princess Royal (born 1840); Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (born 1841); Alice (born 1843); Alfred (born 1844); Helena (born 1846); Louise (born 1848); Arthur (born 1850); Leopold (born 1853) and Beatrice (born 1857).

Osborne c. 1850-60 by Thomas Allom

"It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot" said Queen Victoria of Osborne House, her palatial holiday home on the Isle of Wight.

Robert Taylor Pritchett (1828-1907)
Christening of Princess Victoria Eugénie of Battenberg at Balmoral, 23 November 1887 

Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2017

Princess Victoria Eugenie was the daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's youngest child, Princess Beatrice, and her husband, Prince Henry of Battenberg. Queen Victoria described the event in her journal: 'The sweet Baby looked beautiful in the old Christening Robe, in which all our children & so many grandchildren […] have been christened'.

Christmas was a special time for Queen Victoria and her family, and their celebrations included traditions familiar to us now, including decorated Christmas trees (a custom introduced by George III’s wife Queen Charlotte), the sending of Christmas cards, the exchange of Christmas presents, a lavish meal and gifts to the poor.

This painting by William Corden the Younger shows Queen Victoria’s Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1850.

Prince Albert died at Windsor Castle on December 14,1861 at the age of 42. His premature death was attributed to typhoid fever. Queen Victoria was overwhelmed by grief at the loss of her beloved husband and retreated from public view until the late 1860s. She remained in mourning, wearing only black, for the rest of her life.

This photograph was taken by Prince Alfred, Queen Victoria’s son, in March 1862. The image depicts the Queen and her daughter, Princess Alice, in mourning clothes, with a marble bust of Prince Albert.

This portrait, taken by the photographer Gustav Mullins, depicts Queen Victoria as she appeared on the day of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations on 22 June 1897.

The reign of Queen Victoria is associated with the expansion of the British Empire, and by the time of her death in 1901 her empire amounted to more that one-fifth of the land surface of the Earth and almost a quarter of the world’s population. Extending from Asia to Canada and Africa to Australia, the British Empire was popularly called the "Empire on which the sun never sets". The Victoria era was a time of rapid change and development in all areas of British life. New inventions and advances in scientific and technological knowledge revolutionised industry, communications, transport, medicine and popular culture. In January 1878, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his new invention, the telephone, to Queen Victoria at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

Much of the population of the towns and cities of Victorian Britain lived in poverty, forced to inhabit overcrowded and squalid buildings. In these slums, disease was common and life expectancy was low.
  

The Diamond Jubilee became the theme for many songs, poems and odes to Queen Victoria during the year 1897, such as this piece of music, ‘The Longest Reign’, composed by Ezra Read.

This photograph, taken at Osborne House in 1899 two years after her Diamond Jubilee, shows Queen Victoria with the three generations of her family who would succeed her as Sovereign.

The Prince of Wales, who is standing to the left of his mother, would become King Edward VII following her death in January 1901. His son, the Duke of York acceded, to the throne as King George V in 1910, and the young Prince Edward, shown here aged 5 years old, would become King Edward VIII in 1936.

Read: Queen Victoria and the age of photography

Queen Victoria´s Long Reign


References:

Royal Archives
© HM Queen Elizabeth II 2012
Queen Victoria-Diamond Jubilee Scrapbook

http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonPalace/

http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/StJamessPalace/StJamessPalace.aspx

http://www.royal.gov.uk/theroyalresidences/buckinghampalace/buckinghampalace.aspxhttp:

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/osborne-house/

https://www.facebook.com/royalcollectiontrust/

Britain´s Royal weddings

For many centuries Royal Weddings were private events that took place in Palaces and Castles like Windsor. In George V´s reign everything changed. He wanted his children to marry in Westminster Abbey publicly so that the working people could take part in it.

 

Those were hard and precarious times for monarchies all over Europe ( in 1910 king Manuel II of Portugal had to live in exile after the implantation of the republic and in Russia the Czar was overthrown with the Russian revolution). King George V was determined that the same would not happen in Britain, so he wanted to open up the monarchy.

 When his son (later king George VI) married the Scottish aristocrat Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, in 1923 the wedding captivated the nation and became a national event.

The wedding of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and the Duke of Edinburgh took place in 1947, in Westminster Abbey.

The Wedding of Prince Charles (the heir to the throne) and Lady Diana Spencer took place in St. Paul´s Cathedral in 1981. ( The Abbey could not fit in the 2660 guests and dignitaries invited )

Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles at Windsor in 2005

The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011



International Children´s Day

June 1st was proclaimed International Children’s Day by The World Conference for the Well-being of Children in Geneva, Switzerland in 1925.

It is a day to celebrate childhood. 

Despite their rights, many children still suffer from poverty, homelessness, abuse, neglect, preventable diseases, and unequal access to education and justice systems which do not recognize their special needs. These are problems that occur in both industrialized and developing countries.

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) advocates the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

There are two lasting gifts we can give our children: one is roots; the other wings.

 http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/100-Concert

http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/69-Hope


Happy Children´s Day 2012

English Showcase X

These showcases are dedicated to the British Monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years as Monarch. From Saturday 2 June to Tuesday 5 June 2012 many activities will take place in UK and across the Commonwealth.

International Museum Day

May 18 has been International Museum Day for 35 years! It is a great way of increasing public awareness of their role in society. Therefore it is important to know that this year’s theme is: Museums in a Changing World: New challenges, New inspirations.

As the main idea of my blog is to introduce my students to English-speaking cultures, I decided to search my photo album to look for some photos taken during my visit to museums (of art, because they are my favourite) in the Americas. Since one of the New York museums I find more interesting - The Frick Collection - doesn´t allow photos to be taken, I can´t include it. Yet there are other great museums in the Big Apple.

Van Gogh. Starry Night. Moma

Duccio di Buoninsegna. Madonna and Child. Met

I still recall my enthusiasm when I saw “Starry Night” by Van Gogh for the first time in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA,New York) or when I watched “Madonna and Child” by the early Renaissance master Duccio di Buoninsegna in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met). In fact this painting was purchased in 2004 and was the biggest purchase Met had ever made. At the time Met paid more than 45 million dollars!

 As for other museums in that big city, the Guggenheim Museum of Art owns one of the most beautiful works of Braque I know.

When we talk of art in the USA, New York can’t be given all the credit. We mustn’t forget the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the former house of an eccentric millionaire woman.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

In the Philadelphia Museum of Art, one of the biggest museums in USA I made acquaintance with a painter who was born in Portugal: Manuel Joachim de França (1808-1865)

Manuel Joachim de França. Portrait of Matthew Huizinga Messchert.

Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) The Rock of Hautepierre. c. 1869.

In Chicago I was very much impressed with the Art Institute of Chicago with its huge collection of European painters.

Tom Thomson. In the northland.

In Canada I was overwhelmed with the Musée des Beaux-Arts Montréal, where I found the beautiful painting by Tom Thomson, who influenced the Group of Seven, a late impressionism movement that revolutionized art in that country. (read ART IN CANADA in my blog.) 

If you really want to know a city well you have to visit its museums! Despite being excellent sources of knowledge, they can also be a lot more. For instance, one can always have a pleasant stroll along a Museum’s exciting galleries. Moreover, although I love art, other exhibition halls can also show amazing things, such as dinosaur fossils or scientific innovations. So, when entering a Museum we are not just learning; we are also indulging in the culture of a city/town, relaxing, looking bemusedly at what most fascinates us and recalling details which we might have accidentally put out of our mind in our busy day-to-day lives!

Paul Newman and I at Madame Tussaud´s, New York

CANADA

It is the second largest country in the world. It consists of ten provinces ( Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) and three territories ( Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon). The Canada-United States border is the longest border in the world. The capital is Ottawa.

Canada is a Commonwealth Realm, which means Queen Elizabeth II is its monarch. Perhaps the most familiar Royal emblem is the portrait of the Queen, which is featured on the obverse of all Canadian coins.

The flag of Canada is also known as Maple Leaf. It symbolizes the nature and environment of Canada. As a matter of fact maple forests are the pride of Quebec and Ontario with their annual autumn display of beauty. In springtime the trees provide their most famous product: maple syrup.

Maple forests in Canada

Maple Syrup: before and after 

 Canada´s French- speakers make up about 25% of the total population. They are mainly based in just one of the ten provinces, Quebec.

VICTORIA DAY 2012- May 21

Canadians celebrate this holiday on the Monday before May 24 in honour of Queen Victoria´s birthday who became the longest reigning monarch in British History. She was only 18 when she took over the throne in 1837 and she ruled until her death in 1901. In some cities, fireworks displays or parades are held to mark Victoria Day. One of the most notable parades is held in the city of Victoria, British Columbia, which was named after Queen Victoria.

This holiday is also called May Long Weekend and marks the unofficial start of summer with many outdoor activities.  

In 1957, Victoria Day was permanently appointed as the current Queen's birthday in Canada.

  

CANADAY DAY

The national Day of Canada is celebrated on July 1 to mark the anniversary of July 1, 1867- the Constitution Act, which united three colonies into a country called Canada, part of the British Empire (originally called the Dominion of Canada).

EVER TO EXCEL

St Andrews University is Scotland´s first university and the 3rd oldest in the English-speaking world.

The University is currently celebrating its 600th Anniversary.

Sir Sean Connery has returned to the screen to tell us the history of Scotland´s University. On Wednesday 16 May 2012 he will be in New York for the US premiere of "EVER TO EXCEL".

" I´m proud to be an honorary graduate of a place where good is never good enough. Ever to excel. Happy Birthday St Andrews"

Sean Connery

Watch the trailer of " EVER TO EXCEL":

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/600/events/resources/trailer/

Queen´s Diamond Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II is going to celebrate 60 years as sovereign.

The celebrations of the Queen´s Diamond Jubilee will take place from Saturday 2 June to Tuesday 5 June 2012.