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Sexy birthday gifts exchanged by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert go on display at Osborne House

Several birthday gifts exchanged between Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert have gone on display at Osborne House in their new exhibition Victoria and Albert’s Birthdays at Osborne. It features, among other things, a white marble statue of a nude female figure seated on a rock and a painting of women in various states of undress.

The new exhibition opened last Friday, along with a birthday trail around the Osborne House grounds, to coincide with the bicentenary of the royal couple’s births, and it will run until August.

Michael Hunter, English Heritage curator at Osborne, said: “Queen Victoria may be remembered as the mourning widow in black, but these gifts show a different side to her personality. She was open to nudity and the sensuous, more open than Albert who perhaps surprisingly was the more prudish of the pair. The new display and new trail at Osborne for Queen Victoria’s birthday show a woman most ardently in love with her husband and with art.”

 

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Queen Victoria and Prince Albert drawings of children to go on display for the first time

Queen Victoria’s drawings of her children are to go on display for the first time. The etchings were made in the early years of her marriage to Prince Albert and will be exhibited by the British Museum in London to mark the bicentenary of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert from July until September. The museum curators say that the etchings show the royal family “in a completely different light.”

The exhibition will consist of 20 artworks by both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and they often depict domestic scenes in Windsor and Claremont. They only wanted their pieces to be seen by close friends and family, but King George donated them to the British Museum in 1926.

Sheila O’Connell, the curator of prints and drawings at the British Museum, said: “As parents, both Victoria and Albert have been much criticised, but these images show them in a completely different light. The scenes Victoria depicts in her drawings show her to be a very affectionate mother, and it’s clear that both she and Albert enjoyed spending time with their children. We’re delighted that we can now put these works on display for the first time since King George V donated them to us. It is the perfect way to celebrate 200 years since the birth of these towering figures of British history, who were also enthusiastic artists.”

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The Mother of King Tut – The Younger Lady

“The Younger Lady” is the title given to the mother of King Tut whose mummified body was discovered in 1898 in the Valley of the King’s in Egypt in the tomb KV35 by archaeologist, Victor Loret.

The mummified corpse was found naked and damaged (due to tomb robbers) alongside two other bodies – one of which was later discovered to have been her mother, Queen Tiye and the other a young boy around the age of 10. The Younger Lady was found to be five foot, two inches (or 1.58 m) tall and had died between the ages of 25 and 35.

Interestingly, her body was found to have a large wound on the left side of her face, and CT scans and other investigations showed that the lethal wound took place prior to her death. A working hypothesis is that it was a result of an axe blow, but who ordered or delivered the blow remains a mystery. A potential stab wound was also located under her left breast. These injuries would cause substantial bleeding that could have led to her death.

Details on King Tut’s mum are sparse, but she would have given birth to Tutankhamun c. 1341 BC. We also know that she was married to her brother, Akhenaten, and is one of his lesser-known wives. The Younger Lady also had a double pierced ear and showed signs of suffering from scoliosis; the latter, according to researchers, may have only appeared after her death and the embalming process.

As there is a lack of records and no monuments to her, it is believed she died before her son ascended the throne in c. 1332.

Debates went on for years on who the mummy was, but a 2010 DNA test proved that she was King Tut’s mother. Her remains are now located in the Cairo Egyptian Museum.

The name of “The Younger Lady” has never been identified, but there has been speculation she was Queen Nefertiti or Queen Kiya. These have never been confirmed.

A 2018 episode of “Expedition Unknown” on the Travel Channel did a reconstruction of her face in full royal regalia, under the assumption that she was Nefertiti, which resulted in a backlash as the artist portrayed her as a white woman.

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Queen Victoria as you’ve never seen her before



Newly discovered footage shows Queen Victoria on a trip to Ireland a year before her death. She is seen wearing shades and is smiling throughout.

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From Queen Victoria to the German Crown Princess – 27 May 1887

From Queen Victoria to the German Crown Princess – Balmoral,  27 May 1887

Darling and Beloved Child, Truly, earnestly and most gratefully do I thank God that the (unnecessary though perhaps not unavoidable) alarm about precious Fritz1 has been dispelled and that your agony of uncertainty and suspense has been removed. I wish I could fly to you and clasp you in my arms and tell you just how I suffered for and with you… The one thing I am so anxious for, is that you should come over for the Jubilee, as now you can, and that you and your girls, at any rate, could be with me and I pray that dear Fritz may just be able to go to Westminster Abbey. It will not be long and I do so wish he could just ride with my sons, sons-in-law, grandsons and grandsons-in-law in front of my open carriage in which I should drive with you and dear Alix2, who is quite a daughter to me….

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The Year of Queen Victoria – The Assassination Attempts on Queen Victoria

During Queen Victoria’s long reign, she was the victim of a total of eight assassination attempts.

The first attempt on Queen Victoria’s life was on 10 June 1840 when the newly married Queen was four months pregnant with her first child. Edward Oxford had joined the crowd at Marble Arch – then in front of Buckingham Palace – to see the Queen pass by in her carriage. Around 4 o’clock he walked around to the north side of the Palace, up Constitution Hill and he began pacing back and forth, gripping the two pistols he was carrying. Around 6 o’clock the Queen and Prince Albert finally emerged in a low carriage so they would be visible to all. Edward Oxford pointed a pistol at the two, and Prince Albert was the first to notice him. He fired one shot which missed as Queen Victoria was looking the other way. Prince Albert later wrote, “I seized Victoria’s hands and asked if the fright had not shaken her, but she laughed at the thing. I then looked again at the man, who was still standing in the same place, his arms crossed, and a pistol in each hand.” The carriage stopped which gave Edward another chance, and Queen Victoria now crouched down with Prince Albert. Edward shouted, “I have another one!” He fired a second time. Then the crowd seized him with some crying, “Kill him!” Prince Albert then ordered the carriage to ride on. Edward Oxford was sent to the State Criminal Lunatic Asylum where he remained for 26 years.
On 29 May 1842, Quen Victoria and Prince Albert attended the sermon of the Bishop of Norwich at the Chapel Royal, and a crowd awaited their return to Buckingham Palace. As they passed the Mall, John Francis “a little, swarthy, ill-looking rascal” was standing astride the Mall and pointed a small pistol in their direction. He didn’t fire, or the gun failed to fire, and then he crossed the Mall and walked into Green Park.
Prince Albert had noticed the would-be assassin and informed their security, but Queen Victoria would not confine herself to Buckingham Palace and believed the best way to draw him out was to leave the palace again the following day on 30 May 1842. There would be precautions, however, and she left her ladies-in-waiting at home. Queen Victoria wrote to her uncle King Leopold I of the Belgians, “I must expose the lives of my gentlemen but I will not those of my ladies.” After 6 o’clock the carriage left Buckingham Palace, and they could not help but glance around nervously. John Francis was indeed waiting for their return. Queen Victoria had ordered the carriage to ride faster than usual, and that probably saved their lives. John Francis fired on them for real this time, and he was immediately seized. Once more, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert escaped with their lives. John Francis was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to banishment for life. Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, “the feeling that he is to be executed is very painful to me”, and she was glad that the sentence was commuted.
John Francis was barely out of the country when yet another attempt was made on the Queen’s life. On 3 July 1842, John William Bean Junior – a 17-year-old homeless and hunchbacked boy – would fire at her. This time, she was joined by her uncle King Leopold who was visiting with his wife – who had remained behind at the palace – in the carriage. As their carriage approached Bean, he elbowed his way through the crowd and pulled the trigger. No bullet was released, and he was soon overpowered by someone in the crowd. However, when brought to the police, they all thought it rather hilarious – he was a cripple after all – and Bean managed to slip away in the confusion. When they later tried to find the assailant they were greatly assisted by Bean’s unusual appearance. However, it was now also open season on all boys with a hunched back. Luckily for them, Bean was caught quickly, and he was sentenced to 18 months hard labour at Millbank Penitentiary.
Nine years later on 19 June 1849, a 24-year-old unemployed bricklayer named William Hamilton fired at the carriage carrying Queen Victoria and three of her children (Alfred, Alice and Helena) as it returned to Buckingham Palace. Victoria heard the shot and ordered the carriage the move on as she tried to calm her children. Albert had heard the shot and met Victoria on the steps of the palace saying, “Thank God, you are safe.” Hamilton was overpowered by the crowd until he could be arrested by the police. Many in the crowd believed that Victoria had been fatally injured and they attempted to lynch Hamilton. He later claimed he had only loaded the gun with powder “for the purpose of getting into prison, as he was tired of being out of work.” He was banished to the prison colony of Gibraltar for seven years. Victoria later wrote to her uncle King Leopold, “I hope that you will not have been alarmed by the account of the occurrence which took place on Saturday, and which I can assure you did not alarm me at all.”
 Just over a year later on 27 June 1850, a British Army officer named Robert Pate was already proving to be a bit of well-known lunatic. Even Queen Victoria knew about him and his manic behaviour. Queen Victoria was leaving Cambridge House, where her uncle Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge lay dying, with three of her children. A crowd had gathered around the gate, and usually, police officers would control the crowd, but this visit had been unplanned. The carriage started to leave but had to stop before turning onto Picadilly, which was busy, leaving the Queen unprotected from the crowd. She glanced beside her and recognised Robert Pate. He raised his cane and brought it down on the right side of her head. Victoria recoiled, completely disoriented. He was seized by an outrider, who would have been beside Victoria’s carriage had it not been for the narrow gate, as Victoria assured the crowd that she was not hurt. The crowd manhandled Pate anyway. Queen Victoria ordered the carriage to continue to Buckingham Palace. She was tended to at the palace and had quite a “considerable tumour.” She still went to the opera that night, if only to show the public that she okay. Robert Pate was sentenced to seven years in the penal colony of Tasmania.
 Two decades passed without any incident, but it was not to last. On 29 February 1872, the 17-year-old Arthur O’Connor scaled the fence at Buckingham Palace and sprinted across the courtyard as Queen Victoria returned to Buckingham Palace after a ride through the parks. O’Connor managed to run to the side of the carriage and brushed up against John Brown, who pushed him back. He ran around the back of the carriage with a raised gun and was suddenly face to face with Queen Victoria. Her son Prince Arthur noticed the gun and pushed O’Connor’s hand away, and the gun clattered on the ground. John Brown seized O’Connor and pushed him to the ground. Queen Victoria later wrote to her eldest daughter, “It is entirely owing to good Brown’s great presence of mind and quickness that he was seized.” Arthur O’Connor was sentenced to a year in prison and 20 strokes with a birch rod.
The final attempt on Queen Victoria’s life happened on 2 March 1882. The 28-year-old Roderick Maclean waited for her on the platform of the Great Western Railway Station at Windsor. She was due to arrive by train at 5.25, and she would disembark and go to a closed carriage which would then take her to the castle. Queen Victoria and Princess Beatrice arrived and were led to the royal waiting room, and she emerged on the street side of the waiting room. They were helped into the carriage, and the carriage set off towards the castle. The crowd cheered, and as Beatrice looked out into the crowd, she saw Maclean raise a revolver and fire it. Victoria believed the noise had been a train engine until she noticed the commotion. Maclean was ready to fire again, but he was grabbed by Chief Superintendent Hayes and the gun clattered to the ground. The carriage sped up the hill, and it was only then that she was told that someone had fired at her. She wrote in her journal, “Was not shaken or frightened.” Roderick Maclean was found insane, and he spent the rest of his life in an asylum.1

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Princess Helena – The charitable Princess (Part two)

Read part one here.

As her children grew up, Helena became more active as a charity patron. She set up a holiday home for deprived and handicapped children, she was a founding member of the Red Cross, she became the President of the Royal School of Needlework and became involved with the British Nurses’ Association. Helena also began to regularly go abroad for visits to spas in the late summer. She usually took her daughters with her, but Christian preferred to stay at home. She also liked to go to Darmstadt, where the children of her late sister Princess Alice lived – Alice had died in 1878.

By 1890, Helena’s daughter Marie Louise became engaged to Prince Aribert of Anhalt. Helena was thrilled and wrote to Emily that the upcoming marriage, “makes us very happy, as we feel that with God’s blessing a very happy future is in store for her.” The following year, Helena and Christian celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. That same year, Christian was accidentally hit in the face by stray pellets, and he lost his left eye. Christian accepted the loss and even began collecting glass eyes. On 6 July 1891, Princess Marie Louise married Prince Aribert of Anhalt at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor. She would be the only one of Helena’s children to marry.

In 1900, Helena would again suffer the loss of a child when her eldest son died while serving in the Boer War. Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, “Poor dear Lenchen, poor Christian, who is abroad, and loved this son so dearly!” Helena was also very worried about Marie Louise whose marriage had turned sour. Around the same time, their younger son Albert had an affair with a woman in Berlin who gave birth to his daughter. This daughter – named Valerie Marie – would be Helena’s only grandchild and it is not known if she ever had any contact with her.

On 22 January 1901, Helena’s mother Queen Victoria passed away. Helena and Beatrice spent a lot of time sorting through the Queen’s clothes and possessions. In her will, Queen Victoria left her an imposing house called Schomberg House in London, and they moved in by April 1902. This new base in London also meant that she spent more time with charities in the city. Helena was also with her elder sister when she died in August 1901.

Helena would live through her brother’s reign, and King Edward VII died on 6 May 1910 at the age of 68. They had never been particularly close. With his death (Alfred too had died in 1900), Helena now became their parents’ eldest surviving child. The following First World War deeply affected Helena, and their eldest surviving son Albert had been adopted as heir by his childless uncle Ernest Gunther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein. Helena wrote, “Our only boy is with the German Army on the wrong side!!” In 1916, Helena and Christian celebrated their golden wedding anniversary, but by the following year, Christian was becoming increasingly ill. He died on 28 October 1917 with his wife and daughters by his side. Helena wrote to Emily, “You know how happy we were, and can understand what my loneliness and desolation are without the loving companion of over 51 years. But, I thank God for the eternal peace and blessedness which is his now, and in God’s own good time I shall go to him.”

Helena would survive her husband for six years, and she slowly let go of her charities as she aged. One of the last great occasions she attended was the wedding of the future King George VI and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in April 1923. At the beginning of May, she had a minor heart attack, and a cold turned into influenza. In early June, Helena fell into a coma, and she died at 9.10 am on 9 June 1923 at Schomberg House. She was laid to rest beside her husband at the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore.

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Princess Helena – The charitable Princess (Part one)

On  25 May 1846, Queen Victoria gave birth to her fifth child and third daughter; Princess Helena. It was announced “with happiness” that the Princess was delivered at five minutes to 3 o’clock. Her father Prince Albert later wrote to his brother Ernst that, “she came into this world rather blue, but she is quite well now.” The new addition to the family soon became known as Helenchen – the German diminutive of Helena – which was later shortened to Lenchen. Helena was christened on 25 July at Buckingham Palace. In her youth, she was known to be a “placid, even-tempered” child. She grew up sports appealed more to her than schoolwork. She longed to lead a life outdoors.

When Helena was 11 years old, her elder sister The Princess Royal married Prince Frederick William of Prussia, the future Emperor Frederick III. Helena was one of her bridesmaids, alongside her other sisters Alice and Louise. Her mother was most disappointed in her plain looks, even if it did not bother the young Helena. Queen Victoria wrote to her eldest daughter, “Lenchen’s features are again now so very large and long that it spoils her looks.”

One of Helena’s earliest surviving letters dates from the time that the family was in mourning for Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. Helena was 14 years old when her grandmother died in 1861. She wrote that the death of her grandmother “was a very sudden and unexpected blow for us, and we feel it very deeply. Mama is I am thankful to say pretty well, but she is still very upset and feels the loss terribly; how could we expect it otherwise, the loss of a dear fond parent is a loss which can never be repaired, and day by day Mama feels more the indescribable blank it has made in our family circle.” Little did she know that she would suffer a similar loss by the end of the year. On 14 December 1861, Prince Albert died. Lady Augusta Bruce – a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria – wrote, “Poor Princess Helena could not bear it. The doctors did not like her to be near her father, poor lamb; I did not know what to do with her.” Helena wrote to her friend Emily Maude, “Oh Emily if you knew the anguish of my heart. Sometimes, when I think of all I have lost, and that I shall never see in this world again, that dear adored Papa. When I think that all my life will be spent without Papa.”

Nevertheless, life went on with dear Papa and the following year on 7 April, Helena was confirmed at Osborne. It was not the day of celebration that it should have been, but Helena took her confirmation seriously and wrote to Emily, “It has been one of the most important stages of my life. I am no longer a child, a great responsibility lies on me. May God help me.” On 1 July, her sister Alice married Prince Louis of Hesse and Helena was now the eldest daughter left at home, and she became her mother’s secretary and companion. It was an exhausting task, and Helena wrote to Emily, “I hope you forgave me for not having answered you sooner, but I have had to do so much for dear Mama, that it was impossible.” In the autumn of 1862, Helena was among those who greeted Princess Alexandra of Denmark who had come to spend a few days with Queen Victoria. Helena and Alexandra – who would marry the Prince of Wales the following year – formed a good friendship.

By the time Helena turned 18, she had begun attending public engagement – starting with an appearance at the opening of the Royal Albert Infirmary at Bishop’s Waltham in November 1865. Her age also raised the question of her future marriage. Several suitors were considered, but Queen Victoria was adamant that Helena should remain in England and so a husband would have to be found who would be willing to do that. Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg came pretty close to fulfilling Queen Victoria’s conditions and when Helena met Prince Christian – who was not only 15 years older than her but also looked much older – she was attracted to him. Not everyone in the family was quite so pleased with Prince Christian, but Queen Victoria would not allow their attitude to deflect her.

On 5 July 1866, Helena and Christian were married in the private chapel at Windsor. Helena was escorted down the aisle by Queen Victoria herself, followed by her brothers and sisters. Helena wore a white satin dress decorated with Honiton lace. Her dress and train were trimmed with knots of orange blossom, myrtle and ivy. She wore a veil with a pattern of myrtle, ivy and rose. Eight days after the wedding, the newlyweds embarked on the royal yacht Victoria and Albert to sail to France.

After their return from their honeymoon, they settled at Frogmore House in Windsor and Helena was particularly glad to be making her home in England. She wrote to Emily, “There is such a feeling of happiness after a long journey of returning to one’s house, and I feel deeply the blessing of not having to exchange my own house for one in a foreign land.” Just ten months after the wedding, Helena gave birth to her first child, a son named Christian Victor. Another son named Albert was born in 1869, followed by daughters named Helena Victoria in 1870 and Marie Louise in 1872. She brought the children up simply, and Christian was a caring father. Queen Victoria was soon complaining of Helena being too easily offended and touchy. Helena’s health was undoubtedly keeping her down, she suffered from rheumatism, and she was often exhausted.

In 1876, Helena’s sons were sent to a local school, and she insisted that they should receive no special treatment. They followed up their education at Wellington College and Charterhouse respectively.  In 1876, Helena gave birth to a son named Harald but tragically, he died eight days later. Christian informed Queen Victoria with a telegram. “Our darling little boy was taken from us this morning. Lenchen bears up pretty well.”A year later, Helena gave birth to her last child – an unnamed stillborn son. Queen Victoria wrote in her journal, “Poor Lenchen kept asking if it was alive, which I much feared it would not be. Alas! Alas! It had never breathed. Too sad, and such a splendid child.”

Part two coming soon.

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The Year of Queen Victoria – Princess Victoria’s 18th Birthday

On 24 May 1837, Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent celebrated her 18th birthday, and in less than a month, she would ascend the throne as Queen Victoria after the death of her uncle King William IV.

There had been fears, however, if King William IV died before she had turned 18 as Victoria was underage, there would have been a regency in place in the form of Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent. The Regency Act 1830 set out plans for the Duchess to act as regent until Victoria came of age, but the King admitted he did not trust the Duchess’s (born Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld) ability to act as regent. His Majesty even declared, in front of the Duchess of Kent, that he hoped to live until Victoria was 18 so that she would never have to serve as regent.

Princess Alexandrina Victoria, or “Drina” as many in her family called her, celebrated with a ball at St James’s Palace with people piling the streets in celebration.

Known for her constant diary keeping, her 18th birthday was no different. The soon-to-be monarch wrote in her diary on that day:

Today is my 18th birthday! How old! and yet how far I am from being what I should be. I shall from this day take the firm resolution to study with renewed assiduity, to keep my attention always well fixed on whatever I am about, and to strive to become every day less trifling and more fit for what, if Heaven wills it, I’m someday to be!… At half past three we drove out… the demonstrations of locality and affection from all the people were highly gratifying. The parks and streets were thronged and everything looked like a Gala day. Numbers of people put down their names and amongst others… good old Labache inscribed his… We went to the ball at St. James’s Palace. The courtyard and the streets were crammed… and the anxiety of the people to see poor stupid me was very great, and I must say I am quite touched by it, and feel proud which I always have done of my country and of the English nation.

Little did she know that in less than a month, her uncle would die at the age of 71, and she would ascend the throne.

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The Year of Queen Victoria – The Birth of Victoria

At Kensington Palace in the early hours (4.15 am) of 24 May 1819, Alexandrina Victoria was born to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (the Duchess of Kent), as Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent. Her grandfather was King George III who reigned from 1760 to 1801.

At the time of her birth, the future queen was fifth in line to the throne after King George III’s four elder sons: the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Duke of Clarence, and the Duke of Kent. Her uncles either had no children or children who died in infancy meaning she was the only royal of her generation.

Her birth was celebrated as the United Kingdom saw itself in a succession crisis after Princess Charlotte (daughter to the Prince of Wales and Victoria’s first cousin) died in 1817 in childbirth as the only legitimate grandchild of the King.

Charlotte’s death meant that her uncles knew they had to marry and have children to secure the line of succession. This led to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn marrying the German Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld whose brother had been married to the deceased Princess Charlotte.

Princess Victoria knew tragedy herself as she was a widow with two children, Prince Carl (b. 1804) and Princess Feodora (b. 1807).

The Duke and Duchess of Kent’s new baby daughter was christened in Kensington Palace’s Cupola Room on 24 June 1819 in a private ceremony by the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was then that her Christian name of Alexandrina was given with her second name as Victoria. Her first name was in honour of her godfather, Emperor Alexander I of Russia while her second name honoured her mother.

Knowing her essential future role, ‘Drina’ (as she was called by her family before her ascension) was raised in the “Kensington System” in preparation for her one day assuming the throne from her uncle.

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