In 1844 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert rented Osborne House for a year's trial as a holiday retreat.
Although the original house was too small its situation on a rise overlooking the Solent delighted the royal couple and in 1845 they bought the house and its 1000 acres of land.
The view over the Solent reminded Prince Albert of the Bay of Naples and he and his builder Thomas Cubbit drew up plans for the new house in the style of an Italianate villa complete with campaniles and loggia.
Prince Albert personally supervised the construction of the house and the landscaping.
In the grounds he created mock Renaissance terraces with a fountain and statues which reached down to the sea and their private beach. Acres of trees were planted in the surrounding park and a Swiss Chalet was imported as a play house for the royal children.
Osborne House became the royal couple's favourite home.
When Albert died of typhoid in 1861 the Queen ordered that nothing should be changed at Osborne so that it would remain as a memorial to the Prince. The nursery bedroom is just as it was when Queen Victoria's first came to stay in the 1870s. For the rest of her life Queen Victoria lived mostly at Osborne House and she died there in 1901.
Since her death virtually nothing has changed at Osborne and many of the royal couple's personal possessions, including family photographs and paintings, are to be found in the state rooms along with the magnificent works of art and statues.
The house is now a memorial to both Prince Albert and Queen Victoria and provides a wonderful insight into royal life in the 19th century.
2008: 21 Mar-30 Sep 10:00-18:00 (house closes 17:00) Mon-Sun; Oct: 10:00-16:00 Mon-Sun; Nov-Mar: 10:00-16:00 Wed-Sun. Closed 24-26 Dec & 1 Jan. Note: 18-19 & 25-26 Jul & 4 Aug, the house closes at 15:00 (grounds 16:00) as special events.
Tel: 01983 200022 Osborne House Website
