Showing posts with label queen victoria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label queen victoria. Show all posts

Queen Victoria & Prince Albert as painted by Winterhalter



Franz Xavier Winterhalter (1805-1873)
was a German artist who first visited Britain in 1842 and became one of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's favourite painters, creating about 120 works for them. Although he never received high praise for his work in his native Germany, the royal families of England, France, and Belgium all commissioned him to paint portraits. Winterhalter's portraits were prized for their subtle intimacy, but his popularity among patrons came from his ability to create the image his sitters wished or needed to project to their subjects. He was able to capture the moral and political climate of each court, adapting his style to each client until it seemed as if his paintings acted as press releases, issued by a master of public relations. [Getty]

The following excerpt taken from Queen Victoria by Helen Rappoport

Winterhalter had already painted Victoria twice before - in 1833 and again on her coronation in 1837 - when he finally gained the seal of approval of the royal family in Britain. His paintings of Victoria, Albert, and their rapidly growing brood of children would bring him back for two or three months almost every subsequent year between 1843 and 1850. On this and subsequent visits, he remained within the close enclave at court; no doubt here he felt at ease with so many German speakers around him (the queen and Prince Albert included), aware of the general antipathy to Germans among the public at large...Victoria found him odd, although after his death she remarked that "with all his peculiarities I liked him so much". [Richard Ormond]

Once she discovered Winterhalter, Victoria rapidly abandoned all other older-established court painters. That is with the exception of her adored Edwin Landseer, whose animal paintings, she greatly admired. He romanticized the young and handsome Prince Albert on canvas in a way that delighted the queen, and she applauded what she perceived as the honesty of his likenesses of herself. In 1843, Victoria allowed Winterhalter to paint a surprise present for Albert's 25th birthday. It is probably the only, and famously, seductive image of her.

In a letter to her daughter Vicky, she agonized over whether to commission "three half-lengths of Bertie, Alix and the baby or two full-lengths of Bertie and Alix" since she could not afford both. (Elizabeth Longford)

I've always been fascinated by Queen Victoria and her family so I was delighted to find these portraits done by one of the royal family's favoured painters. I especially enjoyed seeing the portraits of her children in their youth and imagining what life must have been like for Victoria as a young wife and mother.



Prince Albert -1842


Victoria 1843


Victoria with her cousin Victoire, Duchess of Nemours - 1852


Victoria 1842


Queen Victoria - 1847


Prince Albert - 1870


~ Victoria and Albert had 9 children ~

1840 - Victoria Adelaide Mary (Princess Royal)
1841 - Albert Edward (future King Edward VII)
1843- Alice Maud Mary
1844- Alfred Ernest Albert
1846 - Helena Augusta Victoria
1848 - Louise Caroline Alberta
1850 - Arthur William Patrick
1853 - Leopold George Duncan
1857 - Beatrice Mary Victoria

[Years listed immediately above refer to year of birth of children
Year listed under each painting refer to date artwork was done]



Victoria, Princess Royal - 1842


Albert Edward, Prince of Wales 1843



Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
with the Family of King Louis Philippe at the Chateau D'Eu - 1845


Princess Alice 1845


The Royal Family - 1846
(Children L-R: Alfred, Albert Edward, Alice, Baby Helena, Victoria)
I find it odd how boys were dressed like girls back then...


Queen Victoria with Edward, Prince of Wales - 1846


Prince Albert Edward , Prince of Wales -1846


Prince Alfred - 1846


The four eldest princesses
Victoria, Princess Royal, Alice, Helena, and Louise 1849


Princess Helena and Prince Alfred


Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, with Prince Alfred 1849


Queen Victoria with Prince Arthur - 1850
(Arthur would become Governor General of Canada in 1911)


The First of May 1851
The Duke of Wellington Presenting a Casket on Prince Arthur's Birthday.
The Duke was the godfather to Arthur and they shared the same birthday of May 1st.
Read more about this painting...

His Royal Highness Prince Albert
with the Princess Royal and Eos the dog - 1843


Prince Arthur - 1852


Prince Leopold - 1855


Princess Louise with Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold - 1856


Princess Beatrice 1859


Princess Helena - 1865


Princess Helena - 1861


Princess Alice - 1861
(mother of Princess Alix (Alexandra) who married Tsar Nicholas II of Russia)


Princess Alice - 1859


Victoria, Princess Royal - 1857


Emperor Frederick III of Germany, King of Prussia with his wife, Empress Victoria,
and their children, Prince William und Princess Charlotte - 1862


Victoria, Princess Royal - 1867
(year my country was born!)


Prince Alfred - 1865


Alexandra of Denmark, Princess of Wales, later Queen of England
(She would marry Edward in 1863)


Victoria, Duchess of Kent - 1861
(mother of Queen Victoria)


I always wondered why the royals were so unoriginal in naming their children. I imagine that they wanted to preserve tradition by naming their offspring after their ancestors but I think it makes for much confusion! Just take the name Victoria as an example... It is the name of Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the mother of Queen Victoria, and it was one of the names of three of the queen's five daughters. and was also the name of Victoria's granddaughter, (King Edward's daughter). Queen Victoria is also painted with her cousin Victoire from France. More Victoria's found here...


If someone knows the reason why kings and queens insisted on using the same names,
please enlighten me!


See more period paintings at Gallery of Selective Artwork







9 comments
at 5/18/2009 Tags: , , , ,

History of Queen Victoria


"The Grandmother of the European Royals"

Victoria had 9 children and 42 grandchildren and is the grandmother of most of modern Europe’s rulers.


On 24 May 1819, Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, the only daughter of the fourth son of the monarch of the day, George III (seen in The Madness of King George) . In 1817, after the death of her cousin Princess Charlotte of Wales, her grandfather was most worried that none of his bachelorhood-loving sons had yet produced any other heirs. He encouraged them to find wives for the good of the Kingdom. Edward, Duke of Kent, married Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. He wasn't the first of the brothers to sire a child and Victoria was born fifth in line to the throne. Victoria moved further closer to the throne as her uncles and father died without producing further heirs. Both George IV and William IV died while on the throne.

In 1837, her Uncle William died and the eighteen-year-old Princess ascended to the throne having only just come of age one month earlier (Allegedly much to the relief of William IV, who didn't relish the thought of the Duchess of Kent acting as Regent.). On 10 February 1840, she married her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg at the Chapel Royal, St James's. They were to have 9 children (Victoria, Albert (later EDWARD VII), Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold and Beatrice), and through them Victoria was to become 'the Grandmother of the European Royals' as they married into almost all the major Royal Families across the continent.

The happiest days of Victoria's children were probably spent at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Prince Albert had designed this house to be a retreat, somewhere the young royal children could grow up away from the hubbub of London court life. Here they each had their own vegetable garden that they would tend themselves. They also spent time drawing and being creative, and Victoria and Albert loved the times that they spent here as a family. In 1901, Osborne House was also the place where, after reigning for 64 years, Victoria died, surrounded by pictures and mementoes of her beloved Albert (A name which she decreed no descendant would take as King of Great Britain).

Victoria's Dynasty

Victoria, the eldest child, was the first of many Victoria's that would be named throughout the Royal households of Europe in recognition of their Majestic predecessor. She was born on 21 November 1840, and by the age of 15 she had fallen in love with Prince Friedrich Wilhelm. They were engaged in 1855, although there were some misgivings because of her youth. However, they were married at St James's on 25 January 1858. In 1861, the death of Friedrich Wilhelm IV made Victoria's husband the direct heir to his father. The Queen of England, who maintained constant correspondence with her daughter, referred to her as Princess Royal and Crown Princess, keeping her British title first, although in essence it was the more junior title. The King of Prussia was elevated to Emperor of Germany in 1871.

In 1888, Wilhelm I died and Victoria’s husband succeeded as Emperor. However, by then he was already dying and only survived his father by three months. This short period did make her an Empress, but her mother had prepared herself for her daughter's exalted position and had already made herself Empress of India in 1877.

As well as being related to the German Royals, Victoria's daughter Sophia married King Constantine I of Greece. Their grandchildren are ex-King Constantine II of Greece and Sofia, who is married to King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Albert Edward was born on 9 November 1841 as the Duke of Cornwall, the Duke of Rothesay and all the other titles bestowed upon the heir to the English and Scottish thrones. He became the Prince of Wales a month later. He was to become Edward VII (He did not take his first name Albert in order to honour his mother's decree), and through him would descend the current Royal family of Great Britain, headed by Queen Elizabeth II. One of his daughters married Carl of Sweden, who was created to the reinstated throne of Norway as Hakon VII Charles, grandfather of the current King Harald.

Alice was born on 25 April 1843. She married Frederick of Hesse. One of her daughters, Alix, married into the Russian Royal Family taking the name Alexandra. Unfortunately, she was the consort of Nicholas II - the last Tsar - and perished along with her husband and children in 1918 during the Bolshevik revolution. (Anastasia and her sisters are portrayed in the film The Lost Prince, Nicholas and Alexandra, Anastasia and others)

Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, was born on 6 August 1844. He followed a naval career and during his duties became the first member of the Royal family to visit Australia. He married Marie Alexandrovna, the daughter of the Russian Emperor Alexander II. He later succeeded his paternal Uncle to the Dukedom of Saxe-Coburg. His daughter Marie married King Ferdinand I of Romania, and their son Carol II was the last King before the communist regime exiled the Royal family. Three of Marie and Ferdinand's children further spread Victoria's line to the other Royal households. Marie married Alexander I of Serbia and their son Peter II became the first King of a united Yugoslavia. Another daughter, Elizabeth, married George II of Greece.

Helena was born on 25 May 1846, she married Prince Christian of Denmark in 1866. Victoria hoped the new couple would stay close, as she had now lost her husband and two eldest daughters abroad. As Christian was not an heir to a major crown, the couple did stay in England and accompanied the Queen dutifully. However, they did stay at their own residence in Windsor Park.

Louise was born on 18 March 1848. She was probably the most talented of Victoria's children, showing some of her father's flair in a painting and sculpting vein. The statue she did of her mother still stands outside Kensington Palace. She broke with tradition and protocol by marrying the Duke of Argyll. They took up residence at Kensington Palace and the Princess often deputised for her widowed mother at important occasions during Victoria's years of seclusion. However there were no children from their marriage. She was the only child not to give Victoria the grandchildren she so admired.

Arthur, Duke of Connaught, was born on 1 May 1850. He had a daughter Margaret who married Gustav VI Adolph of Sweden, from whom the reigning King descends. A daughter of this Swedish marriage, Ingrid, then in turn married Frederik IX of Denmark and they are the parents of Queen Margrethe.

Leopold, Duke of Albany, was born on 7 April 1853. He was a haemophiliac and was very delicate as a young man. Victoria didn't seem to like him as much as her other children and described him as a common looking child, though amusing. He was in the South of France to escape the English winter when his father died. He was married to Princess Helena of Prussia on 27 April 1882. Their daughter Alice was, until recently, the longest living British royal, only surpassed by HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Their son Leopold inherited the throne of Saxe-Coburg. Leopold’s daughter, Sibylla, married the Crown Prince of Sweden and their son became King Carl XVI Gustav.

In 1884, while his wife was pregnant with his son, Leopold was again advised to remain in Cannes for the winter. While there, he stumbled on a staircase and injured his knee. The injury was accentuated by his haemophilia and caused an internal haemorrhage. Although he did recover, he died suddenly within the month on 28 March 1884. His wife was not in France with him, due to her pregnancy.

Beatrice was born on 14 April 1857 and was only 4 when her father died. Her widowed mother hoped that she would always be around as a companion for her, making her doomed for spinsterhood, like most of her Great Great Aunts. However, when she was 28 she fell in love with Prince Henry of Battenburg and they married on 23 July 1885. Their daughter Victoria married King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the last king before the Spanish Revolution. However, their grandson was reinstated as King Juan Carlos by Franco in 1975.

European Family

As you can see, Victoria's line currently sits or has a claim to the thrones of Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Yugoslavia. But, when you consider that Queen Victoria's Uncle Leopold was the first King of the Belgians, more or less every Royal household has some intimate familial relationship to the House of Windsor, with Victoria as the matriarch of them all.
[article taken from BBC]


British Monarchs, Queen Victoria to present

0 comments
at 2/07/2009 Tags: ,

The Young Victoria

Out on limited release in the United States (& Canada?) on December 18, 2009, FINALLY!!!

Official website




~ Emily Blunt stars in a new movie covering the early years of Queen Victoria's reign. She has a regal connection, previously playing Catherine Howard, one of the six wives in Henry VIII (2003)


The costumes for this film look amazing.
Sandy Powell, award-winning costume designer recreated this silk-embroidered day dress.





~ Rupert Friend will take on the role of her lifelong love Prince Albert.
(Credits include:
Wickham in 2005's Pride and Prejudice,
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont,
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas)




~ Miranda Richardson
is very familiar with playing roles of royalty! She will play the Duchess of Kent, mother to Emily's Victoria. (Miranda has previously portrayed Queen Isabella for Christopher Columbus, Queen Elizabeth I for Blackadder, Queen Mary in The Lost Prince, Queen Rosalind in The Prince & Me, and even the Queen of Hearts in Alice of Wonderland).



~ Paul Bettany plays Lord Melbourne, the British prime minister, Victoria's friend and advisor. I didn't even recognize Paul until I read his name in the credits. (Credits include: Inkheart, A Knight's Tale, Master and Commander)



Jim Broadbent (more on him here) is King William, Victoria's uncle.
Harriet Walter, (S&S, Ballet Shoes, Little Dorrit) plays Queen Adelaide, wife of William.


Mark Strong plays Sir John Conroy, the suspected lover of Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent and he tries to assume parental control of Victoria.


(He played Mr. Knightley opposite Beckinsale's Emma)





Morven Christie (Lost in Austen, Oliver Twist) also makes an appearance.


The screenplay was written by Julian Fellowes, acclaimed actor and Oscar-winning writer of Gosford Park. (He played Lord Richmond in The Aristocrats and Kilwillie in Monarch of the Glen.)





Sarah Ferguson,
the Duchess of York is one of the producers along with Martin Scorcese. Sarah's daughter, Princess Beatrice has a small non-speaking role in scenes showing her great-great-great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria's coronation.
(Beatrice, shown on left)



Duchess Sarah Ferguson
Interview from 2007:
"I met Graham King and said, 'Why don't you produce a movie about Queen Victoria?'"All people see of Victoria is a melancholy queen in mourning, dressed in black. She should be remembered as a beautiful girl, skipping through the grass in bare feet. Hers is a wonderful love story."Sarah has already written a book about the former monarch, 'Travels With Queen Victoria'.

Interview from 2009: She said: "Queen Victoria has always fascinated me. I admire many of her qualities, and in some sense feel a bond of friendship with her. I was able to understand her longing to escape from the pressures of royal life and found her desire to broaden her horizons inspirational."

Talking about her excitement at the project, Sarah explained: "I can't wait for that - it's unbelievable and I think it's going to be massive. With Rupert Friend, Emily Blunt, Martin Scorsese and Julian Fellowes, you can't really go wrong.

"They have all done an incredible job and I am extremely proud that it was based on my idea."

The duchess is said to be much happier living in the UK since her relationship with the queen improved last year - she was invited to spend time at the royal's Scottish residence Balmoral for the first time in 16 years in August.




(The following article was written by Chris Hastings and Beth Jones, Sunday Telegraph)

The Young Queen Victoria Portrayed in Film

She was a fun-loving princess who endured an unhappy childhood, enjoyed the attentions of some of the most prominent men of her day and, for all her breeding, retained the common touch.

This, however, was not Diana, but the young Queen Victoria as portrayed in a new film.

The Young Victoria, which stars Emily Blunt, is set to transform the public's perception of a woman more usually depicted as a bitter old widow forever draped in black.

In the new film, written by Julian Fellowes, the Oscar-winning writer of Gosford Park, Victoria is a highly spirited, passionate teenager at the very centre of London's social scene.

"Ninety nine per cent of the public don't know anything about the story and will be surprised," said Fellowes. "Some girls like to have fun and she was certainly one of them."

The film, based on an idea by the Duchess of York, begins in 1836, the year before Victoria ascended the throne, and ends in 1840.

She is shown as having no time for the pomposities of court life - playfully bathing her dog within hours of being crowned and dancing down a corridor after surviving her first privy council meeting.

Controversially, however, the movie, co-produced by Martin Scorsese, will claim that as a child Victoria had been held under virtual house arrest by her scheming mother, the Duchess of Kent.

It will show how the Duchess, who insisted on sleeping in the same room until her daughter was 18, plotted to block Victoria's path to the throne so that she and the man she loved, Sir John Conroy, could become regents.

Fellowes said: "Conroy is the villain of our film. He was ambitious, clever, good looking. He totally controlled the duchess."

Fellowes describes Prince Albert as a "Terence Stamp lookalike" who was purposefully chosen for Victoria over his less attractive older brother.

"The eldest prince was very plain and they knew Victoria was too much of a romantic. He was considered ideal for a woman who was determined to marry for love.

"What is interesting is that he fell for her completely. He came from a very dour German court and suddenly he was with this girl who was out for a good time. She loved dancing, music, riding."

Andrew Roberts, the historian and broadcaster who has written extensively on the period, said: "This revision is long overdue. The character of the elderly widow dressed from head to toe in bombazine black is a travesty.

"When young, she was lovely, charming, humorous and passionate."




QUEEN VICTORIA RECEIVING THE NEWS OF HER ACCESSION TO THE THRONE

JUNE 20, 1837, painting by H.T. Wells

Fun Fact:
"Singer JAMES BLUNT and actress EMILY BLUNT wanted to play a prank on the world's media - by starting a rumour they were feuding relatives. The You're Beautiful hitmaker and the Devil Wears Prada star, who are friends but not related, dreamed up a plan to send the gossip mills into overtime, because they are always mistaken for being from the same family. Emily, 24, says, "James Blunt and I are thinking of starting a rumour in the press that we are actually related but that we hate each other, and neither of us is willing to admit to it. "He's a buddy - we talked about it because we both get asked about it all the time. I guess we both have brown hair and blue eyes and are British - of course we're related."


5 comments
at 1/28/2009 Tags: , , , , , , ,
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