Historic Royal Palaces is to mark the two hundredth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth with a major new exhibition at Kensington Palace...

On 24 May 1819, Princess Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, an infant who as Queen would one day rule over the largest empire the world had ever known. To mark the bicentenary of this historic event, Historic Royal Palaces has announced a major new exhibition at Kensington Palace in 2019, alongside a re-presentation of the rooms the young Victoria called home.

This temporary display, set in the Pigott Galleries, will focus on her life as Queen, wife and mother, and explore the ways in which the little princess who grew up in the palace went on to have a great national and international significance. It will tell the story of an increasingly independent and powerful older woman, crafting her public image in the context of the development of new technologies, including photography.

Objects featured will include dresses and accessories spanning the last four decades of Queen Victoria’s life, from a simple cotton petticoat from the time of her marriage to the richly embellished black mourning dresses she is associated with. Also on display will be diaries written by Victoria in Urdu under the tutelage of her Indian servant Abdul Karim, photographic family albums and items showcasing the finest craftmanship of an empire.

For more information on events and exhibitions for 2019 at Kensington Palace, call the Groups & Travel Trade Department on 0203 166 6311 or email groupsandtraveltrade@hrp.org.uk. For more on the palace see www.hrp.org.uk