Records of Important Events

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert collected photographs relating to major political and military events that involved Britain during their shared lifetime. These works were usually not direct commissions by either the queen or the prince, and consequently the correspondent glass plate negatives were not acquired by them. The most notable exception is a series of portraits of wounded veterans commissioned shortly after the end of the Crimean War. Closer to home, the royal couple used photography to document some important family occasions with a broader political or diplomatic interest.