ON March 25, 1845, Queen Victoria wrote to her uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians: ‘You will I am sure be pleased to hear that we have succeeded in purchasing Osborne in the Isle of Wight… It sounds so snug and nice to have a place of one’s own, quiet and retired.’
The purchase was something of a dream fulfilled: married five years previously with a growing family, the Queen and Prince Albert had long been eager to find a place where they could escape from public attention, the pressures of official life and the unhealthy atmosphere of London.
The search for a private country retreat had begun in October 1843 and the royal couple visited Osborne for the first time the following year. Queen Victoria already knew the Isle of Wight slightly and, in 1833, had spent nearly two months at the neighboring estate of Norris Castle, a Regency house by James Wyatt superbly set above the Solent (today, in a depressing state of dereliction).
At this moment, the island was changing very quickly. The connection with the mainland began to be served by paddle steamers from the 1820s and, in 1840, the railway line between Southampton and London was completed. As a result, by the 1840s, the Isle of Wight was within about four hours’ travel of the capital. It offered, moreover, beautiful countryside, not to mention the pleasures of sea-bathing and sailing.
In a memorandum dated October 21, 1844, Prince Albert extolled the setting of the property, the privacy of the estate, its connection to the sea and its accessibility from both Windsor and London, as well as the quality of the air (which was also approved by the Queen’s physician). The poor condition of the estate additionally presented him with the prospect of an improvement project.
Denne historien er fra November 06, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra November 06, 2019-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds