In the Footsteps of The Young Victoria

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Parent Category: Travel Info

Category: Travel Feature

Published on Saturday, 19 December 2009 04:23

Written by Laura Blum

The teen-to-queen story inspires. And an arranged marriage where girl meets boy and actually falls in love has its charm. But it's Britain's royal palaces and scenery that make The Young Victoria, a costume drama about Queen Victoria’s 19th-century ascent to the throne and betrothal to Prince Albert, such a lush and atmospheric production.

The film stars Emily Blunt as Victoria and Rupert Friend as Albert, her husband and consort [see upcoming interview with Blunt], who felt regal just visiting its grand locations. Though some viewers may find the story a tad flat or have had enough of the queen-exploitation genre, but-- to misquote Her Majesty -- "we are amused" by the lavish interiors and English gardens, and itch to do some palace hopping of our own. 

Granted though, the average tourist won’t have Sarah Ferguson to broker special arrangements, as she did for the 50-day shoot in 37 UK locations. 

And not even Fergie could use her pull to retrograde the look of residences like Westminster Abbey or Kensington Palace, which required body doubles to stand in for their Victorian-era selves: Lincoln Cathedral played the former; Ham House, the latter. And Blenheim Palace did its Buckingham Palace best, with interiors shot at Belvoir Castle, Ditchley and Lancaster House. For Windsor Castle, Arundel Castle had a chance to shine, and Belvoir Castle showed what it could do as Windsor Great Park.
 
Whether the original or the movie stand-in, the centuries-old residences of British kings and queens will summon footloose romantics from the cinema to the airport. As director Jean-Marc Vallée put it to a native, “We have shot at some of the most beautiful locations imaginable -- Lincoln Cathedral, Blenheim Palace, Wilton House, Arundel Castle… I love them all. I even love your horrible weather.”
 
Many of the monarchs’ mansions are open to the general public:   
 
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace was the true site of the Coronation Ball, where on June 28, 1838, 19-year-old Victoria feted her new status as queen. Today it does double duty as the office and London residence of Her Majesty The Queen and as the administrative seat of the Royal Household. Its 19 State Rooms, where paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Poussin preen alongside sculpture by Canova and Sèvres porcelain, can be visited during August and September, when the Queen makes her annual rounds in Scotland.
The Official Residences of The Queen
London SW1A 1AA
+44 (0)20 7766 7304
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Ham House
When a 17th-century painting took some hairspray meant for Emily Blunt, the keepers of this Stuart mansion were reportedly up in arms. But Ham House has seen considerably darker days. From Civil War politics to Restoration court intrigue, the reputedly haunted house on the Thames packs a history that’s as wild as its garden mazes. For hours of operation, contact the National Trust.
Richmond, London TW10 7RS
+44 20 8940 1950
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www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-hamhouse
 
Frogmore House
Set in the private Home Park at Windsor, Frogmore House comes with 18th-century gardens and a lake. ”All is peace and quiet and you only hear the hum of the bees, the singing of the birds,” is how Queen Victoria described its allure. She was such a fan that she built a mausoleum there for Prince Albert when he died of typhoid in 1861, reserving an adjacent plot for herself. The interior House walls showcase several generations of artwork by the royal family.
Windsor SL4 2JG
Berkshire
+44 207 799 23318
For August and September tours, pre-book at +44 (0) 20 7766 7321
http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/frogmore/frogmore.html

Windsor Castle
The world’s biggest and oldest occupied castle dates back nearly 1,000 years, to William the Conqueror. Its 15-acre sprawl contains a royal palace that served as Queen Victoria’s principal residence. The Blue Room has the dubious distinction of being where Prince Albert died. Visitors can tour the Castle precincts, the State Apartments, Queen Mary's dolls house, St George's Chapel and the Albert Memorial Chapel. During the winter months the route includes five more rooms, called the Semi-State Rooms.
West of London
Via Windsor/Eton Rail, Windsor, UK
+44 (0)20 7766 7304
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Osborne House
Tucked away on the Isle of Wight, Osborne House was the perfect place for Queen Victoria to skulk following Prince Albert’s death. Albert himself had designed the manse, with a nod to an Italian Renaissance palazzo. After its completion in 1851, it served the royal couple as a summer home and rural getaway. Victoria favored its “cheerful and unpalacelike rooms” over Windsor’s gloom, but after her death (at Osborne) her heirs fobbed it off on the state. Today it – and its museum dedicated to England’s longest-reigning monarch -- is the charge of the English Heritage, and can be visited from spring through autumn. 
East Cowles, Isle of Wight
+44 (0) 870 333 1181
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.14479
 
Osterly Park and House
Posing as Buckingham Palace, Osterly Park House made a fine sitting room and ante room for Emily Blunt’s Victoria. It began life as a manor house in the 1570s, among other then fashionable country retreats west of London. In the 18th century, architect Robert Adam gave it a neo-classical makeover, prompting art historian Horace Walpole to deadpan that its drawing room was "worthy of Eve before the fall."  Now under the care of the National Trust, the House is open to the public from March to November, with additional dates for other Osterly Park sites.
Jersey Road, Isleworth, Middlesex TW7 4RB
+44 1 494 755 566
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http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-osterleypark
 
Hampton Court Palace
Southwest London’s Hampton Court was built under King Henry VIII in 1514. Queen Victoria put her stamp on it with a nip/tuck to the Great Hall, but, like other kings and queens after George II, never called it home. Questers are invited into the palace and out to its 60-acre grounds, where the 17th-century Wilderness Garden maze awaits their confounding.
Surrey  KT8 9AU
+44 (0)20 3166 6000
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Lancaster House
The movie set for the Coronation, Lancaster House is every bit as over-the-top as the venue it fronted for. This wasn’t its first gig as Buckingham Palace; National Treasure: The Book of Secrets was. Gossip has it that Queen Victoria once commented to her host at London’s finest townhouse, "I have come from my House to your Palace.” Ground broke on the neo-classical residence in 1825, three centuries after the site was joined with St. James's Palace complex. Today HM Government uses Lancaster House for official receptions. Like St. James’s Palace, it’s closed to the public, but worth catching from the outside if you’re in the West End neighborhood.
London SW1A 1AA
+44 (0)20 7766 7304
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Kensington Palace
Victoria’s birthplace was where she was told on the predawn of June 20, 1837, that her uncle, the king, had died and that she was now queen. Until then the almost-18-year-old had slept on a cot by her mother, as part of an overprotective hysteria known as the Kensington System. Yet memories fade, and in 1899, the Queen celebrated her 80th birthday by opening The State Apartments to the public. The restored walls were decked out with pictures and exhibits, especially of her reign.
5 Prince Of Wales Terrace
London W8 4PX
+44 (0) 20 7937 9561
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http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/building/stateapartments.aspx

Balmoral Castle
Adored by Queen Victoria and purchased by Prince Albert, Scotland’s Balmoral Estate houses the castle whose foundation stone she set in 1853. Balmoral Castle has since served as the private residence of The Queen, and HM and her family summer there in August and September. Beyond looking pretty, Balmoral Estate does its part for the environment and local Aberdeenshire economy. The 65-acre Estate grounds, gardens and the Castle Ballroom welcome visitors from early April through July.
The Estates Office, Balmoral
Ballater, Aberdeenshire
Scotland AB35 5TB
+44 1 3397 42534
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www.balmoralcastle.com

For a related FFTrav story go to: http://filmfestivaltraveler.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=359:emily-blunt-the-young-victoria&catid=31:general

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