Victoria here. I was very excited to visit Frogmore House. I had been to visit the Royal Mausoleum some years ago but the house itself had been closed. Now we were lucky to be among the privileged few who could book a tour, rarely available.
Frogmore House, about a mile from Windsor Castle in the Home Park, was built in the 17th century and updated many times. It has provided a private retreat for the royals since the late 18th c. days of Queen Charlotte and George III. Queen Victoria’s mother, the Duchess of Kent (1786-1861), lived here as her country residence until her death. [Unless otherwise indicated, the photos are all by Victoria or Kristine.]
Arriving at Frogmore
The Sunny Colonnade
The Drawing Room
Mary Moser Room
Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) invited prominent artist Mary Moser, RA (1744-1819), to decorate the room with her floral designs. Below, a closer view of a panel.
Mary Moser
Floral Painting by Mary Moser, RA
Our intrepid group
Another view of the group
Ken takes a break
After our tour of the interior, we wandered around the grounds, with a lovely lake, several follies, and nearby though closed to visitors, two mausoleums (mausolea?), one for Queen Victoria’s mother and the other for Victoria and her adored Albert.
The grounds are a lovely combination of natural and manicured landscapes.
Royal Mausoleum (Victoria and Albert)
Mausoleum, last resting place of Victoria, Duchess of Kent, mother of the Queen
Looking back at Frogmore House…wonder if I could borrow it for a few weeks? Certainly the Queen would be welcome to visit and walk her dogs here while I was in residence. I could invite you to visit.
steps to the mausoleum where Duchess of Kent is buried
Another glimpse of the Royal Mausoleum, last resting place of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
looks like a blue heron to me
I love this young horse. I couldn’t find the name of the sculptor,
Tynwald Rose, bearing the label: Presented to HM Queen Elizabeth II to mark the occasion of Her Diamond Jubilee from the People of the Isle of Man June 2012
Card with picture of Frogmore House in 1819
All of us on the Duke of Wellington Tour agreed that Frogmore was delightful and a house where one could be comfortable , with a minimum of gilt and palace pomp. No wonder Queen Charlotte and her daughters loved it, as have many generations of Royals.
Thank you for these lovely photographs. It looks like a very comfortable place to be. I especially like the colonnade, which looks like a combination of an orangery and the traditional long gallery; perfect for walking in when it's too wet to go out into those beautiful grounds.
What a wonderful tour ! And what a lovely home.