Queen Victoria Tour
Queen for over 60 years and also Empress of India, Victoria oversaw a period of great change. The Industrial Revolution meant people were leaving the countryside to work in towns and cities; great strides were made on the railways and the Underground, with the discovery of electricity and invention of the telephone. On a personal note, Victoria and her husband Albert were one of the greatest royal love stories of all time and she entered a long period of mourning after his premature death, withdrawing from the world for several years and wearing black for the rest of her life. Her 9 children were scattered all over Europe, in a series of strategic marriages which earned her the moniker, 'Grandmother of Europe'.
Highlights
- Kensington Palace, where Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 and spent her childhood. See the room where she was christened and the special ‘Victoria’ exhibition. The Albert Memorial, which she commissioned after his death.
- Windsor Castle, where Victoria proposed to Albert and St George's Chapel where her funeral was held.
- Buckingham Palace, with the Queen Victoria Memorial located in front. Victoria was the first sovereign to make this a permanent royal residence.
- Westminster Abbey where she was crowned in 1830.
- Visit the house where her son Bertie lived when he was the Prince of Wales
- Panoramic tour of key London sites such as the Mall, House Guard's Parade, St James Palace where Victoria married Albert in 1840 and Royal Albert Hall. See Trafalgar Square, where a republican rally demanded Victoria to be removed from power due to her withdrawal from public life after Albert's death.
- V&A Museum - the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design
- Extend your tour to Scotland and visit Balmoral, purchased by Victoria and Albert as a country retreat, plus other royal castles and palaces
- Osborne House, Victoria and Albert's family holiday home on the Isle of Wight, where Victoria died in 1901
- Frogmore House, the home of Queen Victoria's mother, and the final resting place of both Victoria and Albert
- The London Transport Museum to see how transport progressed through Victoria's reign, including the opening of the London Underground
Photo credits:
Slideshow: Windsor Castle from the Long Walk © Dennis Gilbert/Royal Collection Trust © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; Osborne House; Queen Victoria Memorial at Buckingham Palace © Lea Fabienne.
Photo to the right of the tour: Frogmore House © Royal Collection.
