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The Story of the Royal Collection

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the history of the Royal Collection.

Andrew Graham-Dixon

Rufus Bird

Martin Clayton

Deborah Clarke

Jo Horton

Judith Winnan

Sebastian Barfield

Stuart Davies

Kate Horvath

J Ruth Stevens

Sam Haines

Sophie Taylor

Anna Kington

The Story of the Royal Collection: Episode Six

Episode Six

BBC World News - The Story of the Royal Collection, Episode Six

Andrew Graham-Dixon finds out how important art was to Queen Victoria.

Art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon finds out that although Queen Victoria is often depicted as the uptight opposite of her louche uncle, for her, art was just as important.


In this programme art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon finds out that although Queen Victoria is often depicted as the uptight opposite of her louche uncle, for her, art was just as important. This was a passion that she could share with her beloved husband, Prince Albert, who believed that learning how to make art was the best way to understand it. Andrew visits Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, still filled with their art possessions, including marble facsimiles of the arms and legs of her infant children, commissioned by Victoria herself.

Andrew argues that Albert was a natural curator; he instilled a love for collecting in his children and compiled an early 'database' of the complete works of Raphael which he kept in his new 'print room' in Windsor Castle as a tool for art historians. But it is on the streets of South Kensington ('Albertopolis') that Andrew discovers Albert's real legacy - the museums and educational institutions here are a testimony to his vision for the area, purchased with the help of profits from the Great Exhibition.



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