First Published in 1980 Victoria and Albert at Home describes the sitting, construction, and decorating of the two royal residences at Osborne and Balmoral and paints a memorable portrait of the Queen’s family and her Court beside the Solent and the Dee. At the time of their marriage the royal couple had the use of many crown properties, but, except for Windsor Castle, they found none to their taste and began to look for a home of their own. Sir Robert Peel found them an estate on the Isle of Wight, which was peaceful, beautiful, and at that time sufficiently remote from London. However, when access from London became swifter and easier, their privacy was lost, and they looked elsewhere for a second private family residence. A small estate in Scotland was recommended and Prince Albert once again designed the house, this time in Scottish baronial style.
Drawing on memories, archives, and family papers, some of which, with a number of illustrations, have never been published before, Tyler Whittle has written an interesting, entertaining, and vivid account of life at a time so very much more elegant and yet, at the same time, so very much robust than anything that can be imagined today. This is a must read for students and scholars of British history, and Royal history.
Author’s note Acknowledgements Genealogical table 1. A suitable seaside property 2. Negotiations 3. The Napoleonic Mr Cubitt 4. ‘How my beloved Albert enjoys it all’ 5. Bricks and mortar 6. Two sides of the Cairngorms 7. A most determined Jacobite 8. A second private home 9. Great changes 10. Accommodation for at least a hundred 11. The elusive Mr Smith 12. ‘The work is terribly hard’ 13. Topsy-turveydom 14. An old shoe for luck 15. A slow permeation of presence 16. ‘Our cheerful and unpalace-like rooms’ 17. Fledglings from the nest 18. ‘So overwhelming a calamity’ 19. The greatest depth of grief 20. More marriage and death 21. Apt to blaze 22. Almighty indiscretions 23. First independent steps 24. ‘Too foolish!’ 25. Tatiana and her ageing Puck 26. Prising open the oyster 27. The lot of ‘essential daughter’ 28. Triumph, exhaustion and anxiety 29. ‘Mud pies’ 30. A champagne quality 31. No more boiled potatoes in the heather Epilogue Some sources consulted index
Biography
Tyler Whittle
