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Royal Upstairs Downstairs

Episode 5: Brighton

Duration: 30 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two ScotlandLatest broadcast: on BBC Two England

Chef Rosemary Shrager and antiques expert Tim Wonnacott visit the Royal Pavilion in Brighton to reveal the story behind 19-year-old Queen Victoria's visit during the Christmas Holidays in 1838 - the year she became queen.

Tim shows us the extraordinary Chinese style interior and reveals just how it was styled in this way thanks to one of Victoria's predecessors. He also discovers that when Victoria wasn't in the mood for these interiors, she would retire to her own private apartments where the decor is much plainer than the rest of the house.

From her diary entries we glimpse how reading Dickens helped shape her thoughts about her subjects and we have an insight into the serious-minded queen she was becoming.

Rosemary visits the servants' rooms up inside one of the famous domes, closed to the public, where she hears how Victoria went there to watch fireworks. And in one of the finest Victorian kitchens in the country, chef and food historian Ivan Day helps Rosemary recreate a set of elaborate decorative jellies - all the rage at the time - including a pink champagne jelly, two commemorative jellies and a comic masterpiece. Show less

Contributors

Presenter:
Tim Wonnacott
Presenter:
Tim Wonnacott
Producer:
Emma Treanor
Director:
Emma Treanor
Participant:
Ivan Day

Genres

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