Queen Victoria (r.1837–1901) and her husband Prince Albert spent many quiet evenings together compiling albums of watercolours, prints and photographs. Among these were nine volumes that Victoria described as ʻMy valuable Albums ... containing most beautiful water color paintings by the first Artists, and some by Amateurs, collected by my beloved Husband & myself, and representing the different places we visited & scenes of our life etc.’ Many of the works in this exhibition were originally arranged in these very personal albums.

The royal couple collected watercolours in different ways – direct commissions from artists, purchases at exhibitions, presents exchanged for birthdays or at Christmas, and gifts from others. The queen and prince were proficient amateur artists themselves, and Victoria took watercolour lessons from some of the artists whose works they acquired. While Albert, in particular, engaged eagerly with the newly emerging technology of photography, that art form was not yet able to capture events with the same vivacity as watercolour.

These watercolours give us an insight into the public and private lives of Victoria and Albert, at home and abroad. They capture the pomp and spectacle of the British court, the shaping of a modern nation, and the close-knit family at the heart of it all.