The wedding of the Prince of Wales to Alexandra of Denmark, 10 March 1863 dated 1863
Watercolour and bodycolour | 42.5 x 32.5 cm (whole object) | RCIN 921008
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A watercolour of the wedding of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales to Alexandra of Denmark in St George's Chapel, Windsor on 10 March 1863. The scene shows the couple receiving a blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Longley, at the High Altar, surrounded by onlookers including the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Crown Prince of Prussia, the Prince of Schleswig-Holstein and Duke of Cambridge. Queen Victoria, wearing black and a blue Order of the Garter sash, is sitting in the Catherine of Aragon closet above the altar.
The wedding was the first royal wedding to be held in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, a tradition continued by several of Queen Victoria's children. Two years after Prince Albert's death the court was still in mourning: Queen Victoria wore her widow's weeds, and the bridesmaids and female guests were restricted to wearing grey, lilac or mauve. Queen Victoria wrote in her Journal that day, 'Here I sit lonely & desolate, who so needs love and tenderness, while our 2 daughters have each their loving husbands & Bertie has taken his lovely pure sweet bride to Osborne [...] How I pray God may ever bless them! Oh! What I suffered in the Chapel [...]'.
The watercolour was made by Robert Dudley to be reproduced in an account of the wedding by Times correspondent W. H. Russell, published in 1873.Provenance
Purchased at Christie's, 3 July 1962
As part of ongoing provenance research, this work has been identified as having uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933–45. Royal Collection Trust welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era. -
Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
Subject(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour and bodycolour
Measurements
42.5 x 32.5 cm (whole object)
Other number(s)
RL 21008