would let him use his paintbox, and help to guide his hand as he discovered for himself the joy of creating his own watercolours.
He had a pronounced musical ear, and responded keenly to Mrs Anderson’s piano lessons. It soon became apparent that he had a passion for music, and had a strong singing voice. Father and son would in time sing duets with great enjoyment. When Leopold was confined to bed, Albert was careful not to show that he felt sorry for him, and as far as possible he always behaved as if there was nothing unusual in his being kept apart from the other children. It was the only way, he realized, to help the boy try and lead as normal a life as his condition would allow.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert both disliked London. The crowds, polluted air, and for the Queen the city’s constant associations with the unhappiness of her childhood, and for Albert the sweeter memories of rural tranquillity in the Coburg he had left behind, led them to seek retreats further afield.
Though Windsor Castle was something of a retreat from London, they found nothing homely about the vast building. They had continued to use the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, King George IV’s exotic creation which had also been stayed in, less willingly, by King William IV. Neither of them liked it, and the last straw came one day in 1845 when a crowd of two hundred pursued them as they walked from the pavilion to the chain pier. Some people even ran alongside the Queen and peered under her bonnet. They never returned to the pavilion, which was sold to the Brighton Corporation in 1850.
At the suggestion of Sir Robert Peel, who had heard of an estate on the Isle of Wight for sale, in 1845 they purchased a new ‘Marine Residence’, Osborne House, with an estate of 1,000 acres. The existing house was too small, and it was demolished to make way for a new mansion, designed by Prince Albert and the London builder Thomas Cubitt. The foundation stone of the Pavilion Wing, the first part they would occupy, was laid in June 1845. Fifteen months later they took up residence there, and within five years, the two eastern wings (accommodation for the household) were completed.
Osborne was designed very much with the children in mind. More than anywhere else, its arrangement and facilities still retain the flavour, the essence of childhood at the Victorian court. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had their private apartments on the first floor. Below were the official audience and reception rooms, in which a homely atmosphere was added by Mary Thornycroft’s statues of the children dressed as characters from Thomson’s The Seasons ; above, on the second floor, were the nursery quarters.
The children generally remained in the nursery until they were six, when they graduated to the schoolroom on the first floor. Two rooms in the nursery suite were the governess’s sitting-room and bedroom respectively, divided by folding doors. The children each had their own individual high-backed chair, topped with a shield inlaid with its royal owner’s initials, while there were also smaller chairs with Berlin wool-work seats embroidered by the Queen’s aunt Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, last surviving child of King George III. Next door was the nursery bedroom, containing cots with hinged canework sides and upholstered pads to protect the children. They were perhaps designed partly by their father. There was plenty of room for toys as well, most of which – rocking horses, dolls’ houses and clockwork mechanical devices from Germany – it can be assumed were loved, and worn to bits, by grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A wicker trug owned by Louise, who was destined never to have children of her own to pass it down to, still survives on display in the nursery.
Osborne was relatively close to London, but secluded, and close to the sea with a private beach for bathing and boating. It was thus ideal for bringing up a young family. With its wooded views,
He had a pronounced musical ear, and responded keenly to Mrs Anderson’s piano lessons. It soon became apparent that he had a passion for music, and had a strong singing voice. Father and son would in time sing duets with great enjoyment. When Leopold was confined to bed, Albert was careful not to show that he felt sorry for him, and as far as possible he always behaved as if there was nothing unusual in his being kept apart from the other children. It was the only way, he realized, to help the boy try and lead as normal a life as his condition would allow.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert both disliked London. The crowds, polluted air, and for the Queen the city’s constant associations with the unhappiness of her childhood, and for Albert the sweeter memories of rural tranquillity in the Coburg he had left behind, led them to seek retreats further afield.
Though Windsor Castle was something of a retreat from London, they found nothing homely about the vast building. They had continued to use the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, King George IV’s exotic creation which had also been stayed in, less willingly, by King William IV. Neither of them liked it, and the last straw came one day in 1845 when a crowd of two hundred pursued them as they walked from the pavilion to the chain pier. Some people even ran alongside the Queen and peered under her bonnet. They never returned to the pavilion, which was sold to the Brighton Corporation in 1850.
At the suggestion of Sir Robert Peel, who had heard of an estate on the Isle of Wight for sale, in 1845 they purchased a new ‘Marine Residence’, Osborne House, with an estate of 1,000 acres. The existing house was too small, and it was demolished to make way for a new mansion, designed by Prince Albert and the London builder Thomas Cubitt. The foundation stone of the Pavilion Wing, the first part they would occupy, was laid in June 1845. Fifteen months later they took up residence there, and within five years, the two eastern wings (accommodation for the household) were completed.
Osborne was designed very much with the children in mind. More than anywhere else, its arrangement and facilities still retain the flavour, the essence of childhood at the Victorian court. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had their private apartments on the first floor. Below were the official audience and reception rooms, in which a homely atmosphere was added by Mary Thornycroft’s statues of the children dressed as characters from Thomson’s The Seasons ; above, on the second floor, were the nursery quarters.
The children generally remained in the nursery until they were six, when they graduated to the schoolroom on the first floor. Two rooms in the nursery suite were the governess’s sitting-room and bedroom respectively, divided by folding doors. The children each had their own individual high-backed chair, topped with a shield inlaid with its royal owner’s initials, while there were also smaller chairs with Berlin wool-work seats embroidered by the Queen’s aunt Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, last surviving child of King George III. Next door was the nursery bedroom, containing cots with hinged canework sides and upholstered pads to protect the children. They were perhaps designed partly by their father. There was plenty of room for toys as well, most of which – rocking horses, dolls’ houses and clockwork mechanical devices from Germany – it can be assumed were loved, and worn to bits, by grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A wicker trug owned by Louise, who was destined never to have children of her own to pass it down to, still survives on display in the nursery.
Osborne was relatively close to London, but secluded, and close to the sea with a private beach for bathing and boating. It was thus ideal for bringing up a young family. With its wooded views,
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