Expo marks Queen Victoria's 200th birthday

To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, a special exhibition has opened at Buckingham Palace, telling the story of how the young monarch turned an unloved royal residence into the center of social, cultural and official life of the country.

The exhibition, Queen Victoria's Palace, which runs through Sept 29, offers visitors an immersive experience in how Victoria made Buckingham Palace what it remains today－the headquarters of the monarchy, a rallying point for national celebrations and a family home.

Amanda Foreman, historian and curator of the exhibition, said: "Queen Victoria saved Buckingham Palace and transformed it. By transforming this building, she made it bigger, more welcoming, and much more inclusive for the community, for the country.

"She transformed the monarchy, and the monarchy that we know today is her creation," Foreman said. "It's much more open, there's a real relationship with the public, there's an expectation that the monarchy exists for public service to serve the country."

Queen Victoria ascended the throne at the age of 18 on June 20, 1837. Just three weeks into her reign, she moved into Buckingham Palace, despite the building being incomplete and many of the rooms undecorated and unfurnished.

The palace had been empty for seven years following the death of Victoria's uncle, George IV, who had commissioned at great expense the conversion of Buckingham House into a palace by architect John Nash. The King never occupied the Palace, and his successor, William IV, preferred to live at Clarence House, a British royal residence in Westminster, London, during his short reign.

The Queen's ministers advised her to stay at Kensington Palace, her childhood home, until Buckingham Palace could be brought up to a suitable standard, but Victoria wanted to move immediately and begin her new life.

Foreman explained the reason Victoria was so eager to move into the royal residence, because she'd been very unhappy as a child living in Kensington Palace which had bad memories for her.

"She needed to move into the residence of the Queen and this was going to be it, and being young she didn't want to wait, and it was all very exciting for her," Foreman added.

Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a duchy, on Feb 10, 1840. Over the next 17 years, they had nine children, eight of whom were born at Buckingham Palace.

During her reign as a monarch, Foreman said Queen Victoria achieved much, particularly as a woman. "I can only compare her in some ways to Empress Wu Zetian, in the sense that Empress Wu had to create a new language of power, because the language of power that was available to her was male.

"Queen Victoria had the same problem－that power had a male face and male characteristics, so when Queen Victoria decided to change Buckingham Palace, she wanted to make it into a family home, which is a female characteristic," Foreman added.

Wu Zetian (625-705) was China's only female emperor who lived during the Tang dynasty (618-907).

The balcony of Buckingham Palace is arguably one of the best known in the world, and it was Queen Victoria who first used it as a stage to mark historic royal occasions, setting a trend that is still followed today.

The ballroom, the centerpiece of the exhibition, utilizes a combination of old and new visual technologies, such as the Pepper's Ghost holographic effect. Pepper's ghost, named after scientist John Henry Pepper, who popularized the effect in a demonstration in 1862, is an illusion technique used in amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts.

During their time together at Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert held three magnificent costume balls. Queen Victoria's costume for the Stuart Ball is another of the highlights at the exhibition.

The Queen wrote a detailed account of the occasion in her journal and commented: "I was so proud and pleased to see my beloved Albert looking so handsome, truly royal and distinguished, and so much admired. I must say our costumes were beautifully made."