The patronage and collecting of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

The Print Room [was] the favourite resort of my dearest Albert

Queen Victoria, journal entry, 10 March 1862

These words were written by Queen Victoria in March 1862. Then, as now, the Print Room at Windsor Castle housed the superb collection of Old Master drawings, prints and miniatures, inherited by Queen Victoria on her accession. In her journals, Victoria reflects on the many hours that she and Prince Albert spent with the many treasures of all kinds housed in the royal residences, studying and organising the collection and incorporating objects that they themselves had acquired or commissioned.

The arts were a significant shared passion of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and they were active as collectors, patrons, curators and promoters across a breadth of disciplines, from works on paper to paintings, architecture and sculpture, decorative arts, photography, industrial design, music and literature. Both were also talented amateur artists and musicians, and their taste and knowledge of the arts was underpinned by practical experimentation.