Reviews for Victoria and Albert

The average rating for Victoria and Albert based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-01-29 00:00:00 Bruce Guarino My edition is used and I was delighted to see that Sarah Ferguson autographed it! Many years ago, I remember her saying on Oprah that Queen Victoria has always been her favorite monarch. I have to say that she is mine also. I’ve loved Queen Victoria and Prince Albert since I was a child, although loved is probably an understatement. This book is simply breathtaking. Although the final chapters seemed a bit rushed, overall it is well written and the illustrations are gorgeous. It’s about their life at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. They would often go there to escape Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Osborne House was conceived and planned by Prince Albert as a sanctuary for his wife and their nine children. I recommend this book highly if you love Queen Victoria and British royalty. After reading this and telling my husband all about it, he suggested that we should someday go to the Isle of Wight and visit Osborne House. I would love to! Some of my favorite quotes: “Both the Queen and Prince Albert seemed to have spent far more time with their children, than one usually associates with Victorian life. They ate together, and walked, rode, played and painted together. And the fond parents were often present at bath time and in the nurseries that Prince Albert had designed close at hand.” About Prince Albert and Queen Victoria’s relationship: “He was always teaching, moulding her, encouraging her to curb her temper; in many ways he was as much a father figure to her as he was her husband; she in turn admired his knowledge and teaching, as she did everything about him.” “Even at Osborne, Albert had to start his day early if he was to get through the relentless agenda that he had set himself. The Queen did not have a private secretary; this role was filled by Albert, and as in every other area of their lives together – in the running of her establishments, in the upbringing of their children, in emotional support – she completely relied on him. He drafted, clarified, advised, and she approved nothing that he did not agree with. This self-imposed task of supporting, and moulding a constitutional monarch, who also made considerable emotional demands on him, would have been burden enough for most men. But for Albert, it was only part of his work, for the German prince had taken on an active role in the cultural life of his adoptive country.” “There are today many institutions, taken for granted as pillars of the establishment, which owe their existence, or their appearance, in part to Albert. He is regarded as the architect of the modern monarchy; and when his great-great granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, waves to people from Buckingham Palace, she does so standing on the balcony which was Albert’s idea.” “More than husband and consort, Albert was everything to Victoria, and Osborne was unthinkable without him.” “One of the ‘faults’, which Albert attempted to cure her of, and failed, was the Queen’s inability to live in the present. When she was happy, she fended off the future by anticipating it; and dealt with change when it came by dwelling on the past. The band under her window would wake her with a hymn – ‘Now thank we all our God’, or Psalm 100 – while Albert wished her joy so tenderly, so merrily, so lovingly, that she confessed humbly: ‘Often I feel surprised at being so loved, and tremble at my great happiness, dreading that I may be too happy.’”

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-21 00:00:00 Vito Mapp Charming look at Queen Victoria's and Prince Albert's life and marriage at Osborne House,their private residence away from public life.Much is taken from Queen Victoria's own journals,letters and diaries and it also includes many,many photographs, paintings and drawings some done by the Queen herself.The book begins with the first years of their marriage,the creation of Osborne House and chapters on their children.Very little is left out and I very much enjoyed learning about their private life together and how the whole family spent their time.I think what I liked best about it were the black and white photographs and the Queen's viewpoints on everything from music and flowers to her children and husband.Highly readable and I would very definitely recommend this for royalty fans.