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1 of 253523 objects
The wedding of the Princess Royal and Prince Frederick William of Prussia 1858
Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour | 28.0 x 38.8 cm (whole object) | RCIN 919928
Egron Sellif Lundgren (1815-75)
The wedding of the Princess Royal and Prince Frederick William of Prussia 1858
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A watercolour showing the wedding ceremony of Victoria, Princess Royal, and Frederick William, Prince of Prussia, which took place in the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace on 25 January 1858 and was celebrated by John Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury. The bride's relations - including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert - stand to the left, and the Prussian relations of Prince Frederick are in the right foreground.
The Princess Royal (known as Vicky) was Victoria and Albert's eldest child, born 21 November 1840. She has often been described as her father's favourite child. She became engaged to Prince Frederick William of Prussia in 1855 and married him at the age of 17. They had a happy marriage and eight children together; their first, Wilhelm, was Victoria and Albert's first grandchild and was born in 1859. Prince Frederick WIlliam became Emperor of Prussia for just a few months in 1888 before he died of cancer and was succeeded by his eldest son.
Given to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert as a present, on 31 March the Queen sent her daughter a photograph of this watercolour and Vicky replied to say how much she and her new husband liked it. Victoria originally mounted the watercolour in View Album VII. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert compiled nine View Albums during their marriage. These albums contained watercolours and drawings documenting their life together and were arranged in chronological order. The albums were dismantled in the early twentieth century and rebound in new volumes both in a different arrangement and with additional items, but a written record of their original contents and arrangement still exists.Provenance
Commissioned by Prince Albert as a present for Queen Victoria
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
Commissioner(s)
Subject(s)
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Medium and techniques
Pencil, watercolour and bodycolour
Measurements
28.0 x 38.8 cm (whole object)
Other number(s)
RL 19928