Royal Mews
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Group of Grooms with the little pony Webster taken at the Mews, Buckingham Palace
May 1848RCIN 2932499
In 1848 at least five daguerreotypes were made at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace by an unknown photographer. Of these, only two appear to have survived. Queen Victoria recorded in her journal on the 31st of May 1848 that she '… went to the stables to see the horses daguerotyped, which really was curious, particularly to see how badly the horses placed themselves, when they had to stand still'.
Webster was ridden by several royal children, and was a favourite childhood pony of Prince Alfred – Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s fourth child. Queen Victoria watched Prince Alfred riding in the Riding School in 1854 and wrote that ‘Affie has an excellent seat & looks so pretty, in his Highland dress, upon his shaggy little "Webster."’ Webster and his young rider were also sculpted by Carlo Marochetti, with the prince’s hand wrapped in his pony’s mane.