Osborne House

When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, she inherited, as her Royal seaside residence, Brighton’s Royal Pavilion. However, she detested both the town and the building and instead, in 1845, she and Prince Albert bought Osborne House, an Italianate villa and estate near Cowes on the Isle of Wight. The original house was not big enough to accommodate their large family though, and Albert designed a replacement. There, the royal children played, grew vegetables and learned to cook in the Swiss Cottage which stands in the grounds. The house even had a covered walkway in case the weather was bad.

Although Osborne House was primarily a family home, the Queen still had to deal with affairs of state, and met ministers in the Council Room. The Durbar Room and Corridor were added after 1876, when Victoria became Empress of India. The new state banqueting hall was designed by Rudyard Kipling's father, Lockwood.

Osborne House remained Victoria’s favourite royal residence, and it was in one of its bedrooms that she died on 22 January 1901.