Meet the real woman behind the public monarch
Meet the real woman behind the public monarch
Updated 2 July. Following government guidance, Kensington Palace is re-opening from 30 July. Read our visit information
Explore Queen Victoria’s private life behind her carefully-managed public image in Victoria: Woman and Crown, a major new exhibition at Kensington Palace.
The new display, created to mark the 200th anniversary of Victoria's birth, re-examines how she balanced her role as a wife and mother with that of Queen of an expanding empire.
Top image: Queen Victoria by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1856. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019
Victoria learned that she was to become Queen when she was 18 years old, while still living at her childhood home of Kensington Palace. She held her first council meeting in the palace’s Red Saloon just a few hours later.
Victoria: Woman and Crown re-introduces Victoria as a young woman and explores her roles as a queen, wife, mother and empress.
Rare survivals from the Queen's private wardrobe – including a simple cotton petticoat and a pair of fashionable silver boots – provide a stark contrast to the black gowns she was so famous for wearing later in life.
The display also explores Victoria's complex love affair with India, from the story behind the Koh-i-noor diamond to her friendship with the deposed Maharajah Duleep Singh.
Examples of Victoria's personal diaries carefully inscribed in Urdu form a centrepiece of the exhibition.
With the death of her beloved husband Albert in 1861, Victoria adopted a wardrobe of black gowns as a potent and public symbol of her grief. Responding to this central theme of loss, a specially commissioned installation created by artist Jane Wildgoose titled In Sorrow Shut will consider the enduring symbolism of Victoria’s widowhood.
Exhibition created with support from the Art Fund and Farrow and Ball.
"The measurements of the petticoat correspond almost exactly to the measurements of her wedding dress…"
Conservator Viola Nicastro describes the process of getting Queen Victoria’s delicate petticoat ready for display in this short film.
Learn how we worked with members of the local South Asian community to present a nuanced account of Queen Victoria, her reign and her title of Empress of India in the Victoria: Woman and Crown exhibition.
Discover the story of Princess Victoria, the young girl destined to be queen, in the rooms where she was born and raised at Kensington Palace.
Open from 30 July
Kensington Palace
Included in palace admission (members go free)
Marvel at the historic armour of Henry VIII, Charles I and James II in the Line of Kings at the White Tower.
Open from 10 July
Tower of London
Included in palace admission (members go free)
Marvel at the imposing White Tower, a magnificent example of Norman architecture at the heart of the Tower of London.
Open from 10 July
Tower of London
Included in palace admission (members go free)
A collection of gifts exclusively designed for Historic Royal Palaces, inspired by iconic symbols from Queen Victoria's reign.
From £6.99
Originally the childhood home of Queen Victoria, later home to Princess Margaret and Princess Diana and now the official residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Kensington Palace is one of the more fashionable and stylish of our palaces.
From £14.99
These official gifts and souvenirs are all inspired by Kensington Palace's rich royal stories, past and present.
From £7.99