Queen Elizabeth II, the world’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch, has earned a wealth of information and has experienced a lot of history within her 67-year reign as Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. It then definitely comes as a treat to see the Queen partaking and immersing in her ancestry as she looks into a historical exhibit about Queen Victoria.
An exhibit of Queen Victoria will be open to the public on Saturday. However, Her Majesty the Queen has already made an early viewing of the contents last Wednesday. The Queen previewed the exhibit about her great-great grandmother, along with her son Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.
The exhibit commemorates the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth and features pieces that have not been seen in years and have never been in one place. The use of Buckingham Palace as the venue for it is also meaningful as it was Queen Victoria who transformed the Palace during her lifetime.
The pieces on display vary from portraits to clothing. At one point, the Queen and the exhibition’s assistant curator, Lucy Peter, even marveled at a dress worn by King Edward VII. Portraits of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were in abundance, as well as a recreation of the dessert service of the former queen, complete with the “Victoria” pattern dessert China. What had proven to be the most interesting, however, was a 3D recreation of dancing at a Victorian Ball.
The Queen stood engrossed at the display, watching with wonder and amusement at the dancing figures in front of her. The virtual reality holographic projection showed eight dancers in their corresponding costumes performing a quadrille to Giuseppe Verdi's opera “La Traviata.” After watching the dancers fluidly do some complicated movements, Her Majesty mused and laughed, thanking the fact that dancing is no longer as difficult as that.
“Thank God we don't have to do that any more,” laughed Queen Elizabeth. “She loved it, she was totally engrossed,” said Dr Amanda Foreman, curator of Queen Victoria's Palace.
Buckingham Palace and its exhibit will be open to the public starting Saturday until Sept. 29. Its goal is to show how Queen Victoria recreated Buckingham Palace’s image from an unloved building into a focal point for big state events.
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