PRESS RE LEASE

4 October 2018

Watercolours commissioned for of her son's Russian wedding to go on display for the first time

On 23 January 1874, Queen Victoria's second eldest son Alfred, Duke of married Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander II, at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. The wedding directly united the British and Russian royal families for the first time but Queen Victoria was unable to attend the celebrations. Eager that his mother did not miss the highlights of the occasion, Prince Alfred appointed artist Nicholas Chevalier to record the day for her in a series of watercolour sketches.

The results of this special commission are to be displayed for the first time in Russia: Royalty & the Romanovs, opening next month at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, shedding light on the opulent banquet and ball held in honour of the newlyweds and the meeting of cultures that the ceremonies entailed.

Just days after the wedding had taken place Prince Alfred sent his mother sketches of the services that were performed, one Orthodox and one Anglican. One of the terms of negotiation relating to the marriage was that the Grand Duchess could continue to practise her Orthodox faith. Aware that Queen Victoria would never have experienced an Orthodox wedding ceremony, Chevalier produced a sketch of this service with two slips that could be moved to help illustrate the different parts of the ceremony, including the groomsmen holding nuptial crowns over the heads of the bride and groom, a procession around the lectern and a blessing. Alfred explained to the Queen 'by using the little additional strips you will be able to follow different parts of the ceremony'. In her journal, written at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, she described the sketches as 'very clever'.

Queen Victoria was clearly taken with the idea of the unfamiliar Orthodox ceremony and its atmospheric setting in the soft candlelight of the Winter Palace's Cathedral. She chose to commission an oil painting of the moment, which was delivered to Windsor Castle the following year and hung in the Grand Corridor before being moved to Buckingham Palace in 1901. Chevalier's finished painting illustrates the gilt interiors and high domed ceiling of the Cathedral, the bridal couple bathed in winter light as the snow settles at the window.

Chevalier recorded the elaborate costumes of the wedding party in a series of preparatory sketches for the oil painting. The Grand Duchess, who became the Duchess of Edinburgh, wore a silver and gem-set sarafan, a traditional dress worn by all Russian imperial brides for their wedding, paired with the traditional kokoshnik headdress. Queen Victoria's lady-in-

Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.rct.uk waiting Lady Augusta Stanley wrote in a letter to the Queen that the Duchess's head 'must have ached with the immense weight of jewels, the necklace of diamonds….the most beautiful I ever saw'. The Duchess's sister-in-law Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna wore 'a gown of gold- embroidered satin and train of sky-blue velvet'. Lady Stanley wrote that the Tsesarevna and her sister Alexandra, , 'blazed with diamonds'.

After the ceremonies, a banquet was held for 700 guests, before a ball was staged in the splendour of the Throne Room of the Winter Palace. Over 3000 people attended the ball and Chevalier's sketch of the event shows dancers parting to form a passage for the bride and groom and other members of the British and Russian royal families.

Russia: Royalty & the Romanovs, opening on 9 November 2018, explores the relationship between Britain and Russia and their royal families through the unique lens of works of art in the Royal Collection.

Russia: Royalty & the Romanovs is at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, 9 November 2018 – 28 April 2019.

The accompanying publication, Russia: Art, Royalty & the Romanovs, is published by Royal Collection Trust, price £29.95.

Visitor information and tickets for The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace: www.rct.uk, T. +44 (0)30 3123 7301.

A selection of images is available from www.picselect.com. For further information and photographs, please contact the Royal Collection Trust Press Office, +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected].

Notes to Editors

Royal Collection Trust, a department of the Royal Household, is responsible for the care of the Royal Collection and manages the public opening of the official residences of The Queen. Income generated from admissions and from associated commercial activities contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational programmes. Royal Collection Trust’s work is undertaken without public funding of any kind.

The Royal Collection is among the largest and most important art collections in the world, and one of the last great European royal collections to remain intact. It comprises almost all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, and is spread among some 15 royal residences and former residences across the UK, most of which are regularly open to the public. The Royal Collection is held in trust by the Sovereign for her successors and the nation, and is not owned by The Queen as a private individual.

Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.rct.uk

Admission to The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace is managed by The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity in England and Wales (1016972) and in Scotland (SCO39772).

Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.rct.uk