BBC- Victoria & Albert The Royal Wedding

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00:00:00In 1840, two 20-year-olds became the most famous couple on earth.

00:00:05Dearly beloved, the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert of Saxe-Cobo

00:00:11was a pivotal moment in British history.

00:00:15What began as an arranged marriage became the greatest royal love story of all time.

00:00:21Victoria sees this vision of male beauty.

00:00:24It was pure, beautiful, gobsmacking love.

00:00:28We're going to reconstruct the big day to tell the story of a queen and a prince

00:00:33who desperately needed to win their people's hearts.

00:00:37It was romance and politics.

00:00:40This marriage had to stave off revolution.

00:00:43The monarchy was very close to extinction

00:00:45and people were throwing bricks and stones through the palace windows.

00:00:48It's only by recreating the wedding

00:00:51that we'll see the meticulous stage management that went into every moment

00:00:55and understand the genius behind this 19th century public relations coup.

00:01:00It's going to be a big challenge.

00:01:03I'm calling on a team of experts

00:01:05to recreate every aspect of the ceremony.

00:01:09They'll investigate the incredible wedding food

00:01:12and uncover the details of Victoria's legendary wedding dress.

00:01:17They'll open Albert's wardrobe

00:01:19and search for the elusive wedding music.

00:01:22Together, we'll step back to February 1840

00:01:26to see how this wedding saved the crown.

00:01:30This event is the first example of the royal wedding machine in action.

00:01:35It was the birth of a brand.

00:01:37The myth, the powerful legend of Victoria and Albert.

00:01:42It was the wedding of the century

00:01:44and this time, we're all invited.

00:01:51The Britain Victoria was born into

00:01:53was the richest nation in the Western world,

00:01:57home to 14 billion people,

00:01:59most of them living in poverty.

00:02:01The average citizen was young and died that way.

00:02:06During Victoria's 63-year reign,

00:02:09the population of Britain had doubled in size.

00:02:12Suburbs blossomed, so did the railway network.

00:02:16And a queen who was born by candlelight

00:02:19lived to see electricity.

00:02:22Not very much of the Britain Victoria grew up in survived.

00:02:26Our story is set in the remains

00:02:29of the Regency world she was born into,

00:02:32in palaces and castles, in fragments.

00:02:41This pocket-handkerchief of the square is a jewel.

00:02:45It's clinging on just behind

00:02:47what's now the modern Victoria Station.

00:02:49The square was built the year she became queen.

00:02:54At the start of Victoria's reign,

00:02:56everything was smaller.

00:02:57The houses, the carriages, even the people.

00:03:00But expectations were great.

00:03:08The pressure on this tiny girl was gigantic.

00:03:13She'd only be 18 years old when she became queen.

00:03:17She had a special lightweight crown made

00:03:20to sit on her little head at her coronation.

00:03:23But despite her youth,

00:03:25clearly she needed to get married and babied up.

00:03:31This is the story of the Royal Wedding Machine,

00:03:35first created to get Princess Victoria to the altar.

00:03:38It was set running the very day that she was born.

00:03:42Early in the morning of the 24th of May, 1819,

00:03:46Victoria was born here at Kensington Palace,

00:03:50in that first-floor drawing room.

00:03:52Her father was King George III's fourth son,

00:03:56Edward, Duke of Kent,

00:03:57and her mother was Princess Louise Victoire of Saxe-Coburg,

00:04:02now Duchess of Kent.

00:04:04We know a huge amount about Queen Victoria

00:04:07because she left us her thoughts,

00:04:10141 volumes of them.

00:04:12This room is Queen Victoria's childhood bedroom.

00:04:17From the age of 13, here at Kensington Palace,

00:04:20she'd been keeping a daily diary, a journal.

00:04:24The originals of these volumes are at Windsor Castle today,

00:04:27but anyone in the world can read them

00:04:29because they've all been put online.

00:04:31She wrote about where she'd been,

00:04:34who she'd met,

00:04:35her hopes and her dreams,

00:04:37the weather.

00:04:39As a child, she'd had very little freedom.

00:04:43Her mother controlled every move,

00:04:45driven by the need to make sure she survived to become Queen.

00:04:49Initially, she was very resistant to the idea

00:04:52of immediately marrying.

00:04:55Victoria's priority was to spare herself

00:04:58the inevitability of marriage

00:05:00and producing a line of little babies to succeed

00:05:04and be in line to the throne.

00:05:05She felt that onerous responsibility.

00:05:09Victoria always knew

00:05:11that she was destined for an arranged marriage

00:05:14to her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha,

00:05:18a small German family with a big place in history.

00:05:22They were connected with all the great royalty

00:05:25and all the huge dynasties of Europe

00:05:27and they'd been connected

00:05:28with the great historical events of Europe.

00:05:31Victoria's mother was a Coburg princess.

00:05:34This union was designed

00:05:36to strengthen the bloodline of the British monarchy

00:05:38and introduce progressive continental ideas.

00:05:43The plan to marry the cousins

00:05:46was hatched when they were babies.

00:05:48Their first meeting was in London

00:05:50at Victoria's 17th birthday party.

00:05:53The court held their breath.

00:05:55According to the plan,

00:05:56romantic sparks would fly.

00:05:59Victoria wasn't terribly impressed by Albert.

00:06:02She thought Albert was rather too plump

00:06:05and he kept falling asleep.

00:06:08Ah, this is very nice in here.

00:06:10Andrew Wilson is one of Victoria's biographers.

00:06:13Andrew, what do you think happened

00:06:15the first time they were in the same room?

00:06:17He was very, very shy.

00:06:19He was an awkward teenager.

00:06:21He had hardly known any female companionship.

00:06:26He had almost no females near him

00:06:28throughout his upbringing.

00:06:30So he'd had 16 years of an all-male,

00:06:32all-German atmosphere.

00:06:35The other thing is,

00:06:36Albert had permanent diarrhea when he first met her.

00:06:39The entire German party who came over

00:06:41had dreadful gastric attacks.

00:06:43So it wasn't a very successful first encounter.

00:06:46I find it very striking

00:06:48that in her journal entry for that day,

00:06:49she describes meeting Albert.

00:06:51Then there's a whole lot more about this parrot

00:06:53that she gets given as a present.

00:06:55If she falls in love with anybody that day,

00:06:57it was with the parrot.

00:06:58It was with the parrot, exactly.

00:07:01Three years later,

00:07:02the princess had become Queen Victoria

00:07:05and Albert returned from Germany

00:07:07for a second visit.

00:07:10The love story began for real

00:07:12at Windsor Castle.

00:07:16Victoria knew her duty

00:07:18but remembered her unimpressive cousin.

00:07:22Albert was her intended

00:07:23but she wanted her freedom.

00:07:26She didn't like the idea.

00:07:27She didn't want her babies so soon.

00:07:30She just didn't want to commit herself.

00:07:35Albert felt the same.

00:07:37He hardly knew this girl

00:07:38who'd already rejected him once.

00:07:40His brother Ernst was with him

00:07:42for moral support.

00:07:44He makes up his mind

00:07:46that what he's going to do

00:07:47is break it off.

00:07:48He was extremely apprehensive

00:07:50about how things were going to turn out

00:07:53and also feeling humiliated

00:07:55because really,

00:07:56Victoria kept him hanging around

00:07:58for the best part of three years.

00:08:01The master marriage plan

00:08:03hung in the balance.

00:08:12Suddenly, the frog of 1836

00:08:15has turned into this gorgeous, gorgeous man.

00:08:19Victoria looks down

00:08:21and she sees this vision of male beauty.

00:08:25From Victoria's point of view,

00:08:27it was pure, beautiful, gobsmacking love.

00:08:32Victoria is a real romantic.

00:08:35She loved romantic novels

00:08:36when she's young.

00:08:38When she saw him,

00:08:39she writes frankly.

00:08:41She's not somebody

00:08:41who makes up these things in her journals.

00:08:43She adores him.

00:08:44She wrote,

00:08:45It was with some emotion

00:08:47that I beheld Albert,

00:08:49who is beautiful.

00:08:51Albert and Ernst stayed for several days

00:08:53and on the 11th of October,

00:08:55he danced with her.

00:08:56For Victoria,

00:08:57it was love.

00:08:59Love at second sight.

00:09:05Four days later,

00:09:07the Queen faced a difficult task.

00:09:09A monarch can't be proposed to,

00:09:11so she had to ask the big question.

00:09:14She wrote,

00:09:15I said to him

00:09:17that I thought he must be aware

00:09:19why I wished them to come here,

00:09:21that it would make me too happy

00:09:23if he would consent to what I wished,

00:09:26to marry me.

00:09:29Once again,

00:09:30Victoria's journal

00:09:31reveals the depth of her feelings.

00:09:33I feel the happiest of human beings.

00:09:40The engagement of Victoria and Albert

00:09:43was the first step towards the altar

00:09:46and a wedding meticulously planned

00:09:48to make it the PR coup of the century.

00:09:51The wedding was so groundbreaking,

00:09:54we still feel the effects today.

00:09:57Every modern white wedding dress

00:09:59is descended from the one

00:10:01worn by Queen Victoria.

00:10:03She was the first to popularise

00:10:05white for brides.

00:10:06Like all these women,

00:10:08we're starting our journey

00:10:10to Victoria's big day

00:10:11with the dress.

00:10:14Victoria's own wedding gown

00:10:15is kept in our Queen's private collection.

00:10:18The challenge is

00:10:19to recreate this iconic garment

00:10:21using pictures from 1840.

00:10:24The artist George Hayter

00:10:25was actually at the wedding

00:10:27for this painting.

00:10:30I'm taking that challenge

00:10:32to historical costumier,

00:10:34Harriet Waterhouse,

00:10:35who's in Windsor

00:10:36with more reference materials.

00:10:38Now, Harriet,

00:10:39does the thought of making

00:10:40the wedding dress

00:10:41give you any particular

00:10:44problems, challenges?

00:10:45Well, I'm going to be

00:10:47sewing everything by hand,

00:10:48but actually,

00:10:49once you get used to doing it by hand,

00:10:50you can be quite quick.

00:10:52If you're an expert.

00:10:53The dress is quite simple.

00:10:55It's expensive and beautiful

00:10:56and romantic,

00:10:57but it's not showy.

00:11:00It was said at the time

00:11:02that Victoria's dress

00:11:03and all the bridesmaids

00:11:05being in white

00:11:05set them apart

00:11:06from everyone around them

00:11:08and made them really shine.

00:11:09It's also said

00:11:10that they look

00:11:10more simply dressed.

00:11:12Well,

00:11:13if you look at

00:11:13previous royal brides'

00:11:15dresses traditionally,

00:11:17very encrusted

00:11:18and glittering.

00:11:19The lack of embellishment

00:11:21of a metallic sort

00:11:23is really very striking.

00:11:24So she really did

00:11:26break the mould.

00:11:28Like all royal women,

00:11:30the young queen's clothes

00:11:31were closely observed.

00:11:33There were clues to her tastes

00:11:34at her first home.

00:11:38These rooms at Kensington Palace,

00:11:40where Victoria grew up,

00:11:41are stuffed full

00:11:43of vital research materials

00:11:45for our project,

00:11:46including her clothing.

00:11:48This dress is from

00:11:50her early reign.

00:11:51People looking at it

00:11:52often say,

00:11:53but it's tiny.

00:11:55And she does here have

00:11:56a 24-inch waist.

00:11:59And you can really see

00:12:00that she wasn't very tall.

00:12:02Five foot,

00:12:03one and a quarter inches.

00:12:05People who met her, though,

00:12:06often commented on

00:12:07her shapeliness.

00:12:09One American visitor

00:12:10to the palace

00:12:11said that,

00:12:12like all English women,

00:12:14she had a very good bust.

00:12:16I've come here today

00:12:18in search of one particular

00:12:20very precious garment.

00:12:23OK, gloves on, gloves on.

00:12:25Curator Claudia Acott-Williams

00:12:27has in her care

00:12:28a tiny petticoat

00:12:29that belonged

00:12:30to Queen Victoria.

00:12:31More than that,

00:12:32it's rumoured to be

00:12:33the one she wore

00:12:35at the wedding.

00:12:36So this is an unusual

00:12:38and quite rare survival

00:12:39from her early reign.

00:12:40It's quite simple

00:12:41in its design,

00:12:42but it's the quality

00:12:43of the textile

00:12:44and the kind of

00:12:45masterful construction

00:12:46which show us

00:12:47that it was made

00:12:48for a queen.

00:12:49So on her wedding day

00:12:51she would have

00:12:51had to have worn

00:12:52something underneath

00:12:53and this is,

00:12:55well, it was possibly

00:12:55even this one,

00:12:56wasn't it?

00:12:57Possibly.

00:12:58I mean, we can't

00:12:59sort of confirm that,

00:13:00but it would have been

00:13:00something very, very

00:13:01similar to this.

00:13:02We're going to remake

00:13:04her wedding dress

00:13:05for this project

00:13:06and I know

00:13:07that the dimensions

00:13:09of this petticoat

00:13:10match the ones

00:13:12of the wedding dress itself.

00:13:13That's right.

00:13:14This would follow

00:13:15very much the line

00:13:16of the dress

00:13:17so we get a real sense

00:13:18of her shape

00:13:19and her stature

00:13:20at this point.

00:13:21There's nothing like

00:13:22seeing a person's

00:13:23underwear

00:13:25to give you a sense

00:13:26of who they really were.

00:13:28Yes, exactly.

00:13:31At her home,

00:13:32Costumier Harriet

00:13:33prepares her workroom.

00:13:35Historical clothes

00:13:36are not just what

00:13:37you see in the painting.

00:13:39The stuff underneath

00:13:39makes the shape.

00:13:40This petticoat

00:13:41would have been worn

00:13:42over a chemise corset,

00:13:44a couple of petticoats

00:13:45and a crinoline.

00:13:46The important thing

00:13:48is that everything

00:13:48looks proportionally

00:13:50like the painting.

00:13:52In the Hayter picture,

00:13:53it's a gentle

00:13:54sort of bell shape.

00:13:56There's a sort of

00:13:57a lace collar

00:13:58made of Honiton lace.

00:14:00I've got a variety

00:14:01of different laces.

00:14:02Queen Victoria

00:14:03wanted to reinvigorate

00:14:04British industry

00:14:05so all her lace

00:14:06was manufactured

00:14:07in Devon.

00:14:09It's a thing

00:14:09that the royal family

00:14:10still do today

00:14:11but up till that point

00:14:12people were wearing

00:14:13what they wanted

00:14:14and often it was foreign.

00:14:16Thankfully,

00:14:16I've got quite a collection

00:14:18of different antique laces.

00:14:21This is fragile.

00:14:22I'm going to have to do

00:14:24a little bit of mending on it

00:14:25but it's a wedding veil.

00:14:28It's probably

00:14:29around the right date.

00:14:31It's not quite as magnificent

00:14:33as Queen Victoria's

00:14:34but it's a similar size

00:14:35and she wore it

00:14:36just on the back of her head.

00:14:38sort of

00:14:39there-ish

00:14:41and it just hung.

00:14:43So it's quite

00:14:44quite a minimal thing

00:14:45but she was so

00:14:46so fond of her wedding veil.

00:14:50Authenticity demands

00:14:52Harriet works

00:14:53in antique measurements.

00:14:55I really love this.

00:14:56This is a yardstick.

00:14:58The yard is divided.

00:15:00It's in quarters.

00:15:01You see there's a pin

00:15:02for each quarter.

00:15:03This quarter at the end

00:15:04is divided in half

00:15:05and that's a finger.

00:15:07The finger is divided in half

00:15:09and that measurement there

00:15:10is a nail.

00:15:11This little remnant

00:15:13of a pin there

00:15:14that was an inch.

00:15:16Subtly not quite a whole inch

00:15:18as we understand it now.

00:15:23Harriet isn't just

00:15:24making the wedding gown

00:15:25she's also

00:15:26dressing our guests

00:15:28in authentic clothing

00:15:29that will help them

00:15:30think and feel 1840.

00:15:33It's very exciting.

00:15:34I've got a whole range

00:15:35of really lovely rocks.

00:15:37Getting a load of dresses together

00:15:38is like creating

00:15:39someone's life.

00:15:42Victoria was 20

00:15:43a slip of a girl

00:15:45quite unlike

00:15:46the more matronly figure

00:15:47she'd become.

00:15:48That fits nicely.

00:15:50I like that.

00:15:51Albert was a strapping lad

00:15:52who enjoyed outdoor pursuits

00:15:54but he was extremely bookish

00:15:56and even by Victorian standards

00:15:58he was pretty straight-laced.

00:16:00Among the guests

00:16:01the man closest to the Queen

00:16:03before she fell for Albert

00:16:04her advisor

00:16:05and Prime Minister

00:16:06Lord Melbourne.

00:16:08He would be

00:16:09wedding planner in chief

00:16:11but it was going to be

00:16:11painful for Melbourne.

00:16:13Lots of people suspected

00:16:15that he himself

00:16:16was in love

00:16:17with Victoria.

00:16:19Also at the fitting

00:16:20the most important woman

00:16:22in Victoria's life

00:16:23the Queen Mother.

00:16:25Victoria couldn't forgive her

00:16:26for the strict upbringing

00:16:28she'd endured

00:16:28and they rarely spoke.

00:16:30The Queen Mother spent years

00:16:32plotting the marriage

00:16:33of her daughter

00:16:34and Albert.

00:16:35She understood

00:16:36that this wedding

00:16:37was about public relations

00:16:38and how essential that was

00:16:40because she had given birth

00:16:42to Victoria

00:16:43to solve

00:16:43a royal image crisis.

00:16:46For decades

00:16:47the people of Britain

00:16:48had been fed up

00:16:49with their kings

00:16:49the Hanoverians.

00:16:51To survive

00:16:52the monarchy

00:16:52must adapt

00:16:53work with Parliament

00:16:55and the people

00:16:56but that called

00:16:57for a new kind

00:16:58of ruler.

00:17:00Public fury

00:17:01was at its worst

00:17:02when Victoria

00:17:02was a child.

00:17:03On the throne

00:17:04her uncle

00:17:05George IV

00:17:05was a vain

00:17:07drug-addicted

00:17:08adulterer.

00:17:09The monarchy

00:17:10was very close

00:17:11to extinction

00:17:12and there were

00:17:13revolutionary

00:17:13rumblings in Britain.

00:17:15If you'd had

00:17:15another person

00:17:16like George IV

00:17:17sitting on the throne

00:17:18you could have seen

00:17:19the monarchy

00:17:20being chucked

00:17:21out of the window.

00:17:22King George

00:17:23had done one thing right.

00:17:25With Caroline of Brunswick

00:17:26he produced

00:17:27a legitimate heir

00:17:28Charlotte.

00:17:29She was

00:17:30the darling

00:17:31of the people

00:17:31a fine

00:17:32decent

00:17:33queen-in-waiting

00:17:34but in 1817

00:17:35she died

00:17:36in childbirth.

00:17:37She was

00:17:38the only

00:17:39legitimate

00:17:40grandchild

00:17:41of King George III.

00:17:42He had lots

00:17:43of grandchildren

00:17:43but most of them

00:17:44were illegitimate

00:17:45except for

00:17:45Princess Charlotte

00:17:46so she was

00:17:47the only possible

00:17:47heir to the throne

00:17:48and her death

00:17:49was a sort of

00:17:50national calamity.

00:17:52You know

00:17:52this was a possible

00:17:53sort of turning point

00:17:55for the monarchy.

00:17:56I mean

00:17:56it was so unpopular.

00:17:58George IV

00:17:59died

00:17:59without a legitimate

00:18:00child

00:18:01though his brother

00:18:02William

00:18:02became king

00:18:03but none of his

00:18:04surviving children

00:18:05were legitimate

00:18:06either.

00:18:06the crown

00:18:07was in danger.

00:18:09Brother number

00:18:10four

00:18:10Edward

00:18:11married German

00:18:12Princess

00:18:13Victoire

00:18:13specifically

00:18:14to produce

00:18:15a legitimate

00:18:16heir to the throne.

00:18:18Like Charlotte

00:18:19Victoria

00:18:19must win

00:18:20the people's hearts

00:18:21marry well

00:18:22and be a new

00:18:23kind of monarch.

00:18:25Her father

00:18:26died soon

00:18:26after her birth

00:18:27leaving her

00:18:28in the tender

00:18:28care of her mother

00:18:30whose task

00:18:30was to keep

00:18:31her alive.

00:18:33Victoria

00:18:34grew up

00:18:34here at Kensington

00:18:36Palace

00:18:36under a strict

00:18:37set of rules

00:18:39that became known

00:18:40as the Kensington

00:18:41System.

00:18:43This is partly

00:18:43about her safety.

00:18:45She wasn't supposed

00:18:46to walk up

00:18:46or down stairs

00:18:47without somebody

00:18:48holding her hand

00:18:49in case she fell

00:18:50but it was also

00:18:51about mental

00:18:52control

00:18:53and surveillance.

00:18:55Her mother

00:18:56even read her diary.

00:18:58The rules and

00:18:59regulations

00:18:59made Victoria

00:19:01hate her mother

00:19:02and her mother's

00:19:03right-hand man

00:19:04John Conroy.

00:19:06The Kensington

00:19:07system sounds

00:19:08ridiculously rigid

00:19:09to us

00:19:10but there was

00:19:10a point to it.

00:19:12Had little

00:19:12Princess Victoria

00:19:13fallen down the

00:19:14stairs

00:19:15or fallen off

00:19:17her horse

00:19:17or died

00:19:18that really

00:19:19would have been

00:19:19curtains for the

00:19:20British monarchy.

00:19:21When Victoria

00:19:23became Queen

00:19:23the nation

00:19:24once again

00:19:25felt hope.

00:19:26she was

00:19:27the modern

00:19:28decent ruler

00:19:29they'd waited for

00:19:30and then

00:19:31a few months

00:19:32before she met

00:19:33Prince Albert

00:19:33and fell in love

00:19:34it all went wrong.

00:19:37In the summer

00:19:37of 1839

00:19:38the palace

00:19:39is tense.

00:19:41The new queen

00:19:42has been doing

00:19:43some quite surprising

00:19:44things.

00:19:45She's been testing

00:19:46the limits

00:19:47of her power.

00:19:48Some of the things

00:19:49she's done

00:19:49have made her

00:19:50advisors

00:19:51wince.

00:19:54Enter.

00:19:55Victoria's

00:19:56inexperience

00:19:57combined with

00:19:58her temper

00:19:59created two

00:20:00scandals

00:20:00that rocked

00:20:01the palace

00:20:02outraged

00:20:03the press

00:20:03and endangered

00:20:04the monarchy

00:20:05itself.

00:20:06Scandal number

00:20:07one

00:20:07was just

00:20:08the latest

00:20:09battle

00:20:09in the ongoing

00:20:10war

00:20:11between Victoria

00:20:12and her mother.

00:20:13They used

00:20:15to spend

00:20:15every waking

00:20:16hour together

00:20:17but now

00:20:18her mother

00:20:18lived in a

00:20:19remote part

00:20:20of the palace

00:20:20and Victoria

00:20:21only communicated

00:20:22with her

00:20:23by letter.

00:20:25Victoria's

00:20:25frostiness

00:20:26also extended

00:20:27to the

00:20:28Queen Mother's

00:20:29staff.

00:20:30Lady Flora

00:20:31Hastings

00:20:32was a lady

00:20:33in waiting

00:20:34to Victoria's

00:20:35mother

00:20:35and she was

00:20:36known to

00:20:37have ridden

00:20:38by herself

00:20:38in a carriage

00:20:39with John

00:20:40Conroy.

00:20:41Shortly after

00:20:42this Lady Flora's

00:20:43belly mysteriously

00:20:45started to

00:20:46swell.

00:20:47Victoria

00:20:48and her side

00:20:49of the court

00:20:49assumes the

00:20:50very worst.

00:20:52Lady Flora

00:20:53Hastings

00:20:54was suspected

00:20:55of being

00:20:57pregnant

00:20:57and possibly

00:20:58pregnant

00:20:58by John

00:20:59Conroy.

00:21:00John Conroy

00:21:02was a

00:21:03banger and

00:21:03a cad.

00:21:04All the

00:21:04gossips of

00:21:05London,

00:21:05everybody at

00:21:06court

00:21:06assumed

00:21:07that

00:21:07Conroy's

00:21:08hold over

00:21:10the Duchess

00:21:10of Kent

00:21:11and hence

00:21:11over Queen

00:21:12Victoria

00:21:12was

00:21:14sexual.

00:21:15poor

00:21:16Lady Flora

00:21:17had to

00:21:18undergo

00:21:19an

00:21:19intrusive

00:21:20degrading

00:21:21really

00:21:22horrible

00:21:22medical

00:21:23examination.

00:21:25Queen Victoria

00:21:26had made

00:21:27this

00:21:27appalling

00:21:28blunder

00:21:28with no

00:21:30justification

00:21:30for the

00:21:31way she

00:21:31behaved

00:21:31at all

00:21:32that she

00:21:33wasn't

00:21:33pregnant.

00:21:34She was

00:21:34in fact

00:21:34suffering

00:21:34from cancer.

00:21:36The court

00:21:36was horrified.

00:21:38How could

00:21:39anyone have

00:21:40fought ill

00:21:40of this

00:21:41innocent?

00:21:41Melbourne

00:21:42made

00:21:42Victoria

00:21:43go to

00:21:43her bedside.

00:21:45She

00:21:45couldn't

00:21:46shake

00:21:46off

00:21:46this

00:21:47hatred

00:21:47of

00:21:48her

00:21:48mother

00:21:48that

00:21:49by

00:21:50proxy

00:21:50she

00:21:50also

00:21:51hated

00:21:51Flora

00:21:52Hastings.

00:21:53Her

00:21:53family

00:21:54releases

00:21:55letters

00:21:55that get

00:21:56into the

00:21:56papers

00:21:57of how

00:21:58she was

00:21:58accused

00:21:58and how

00:21:59she was

00:21:59humiliated

00:22:00and the

00:22:01press

00:22:01really

00:22:01turned

00:22:02against

00:22:02Victoria.

00:22:03In

00:22:04July

00:22:041839

00:22:05Flora

00:22:06finally

00:22:07died

00:22:07of liver

00:22:08cancer.

00:22:08The

00:22:09Queen's

00:22:09carriage

00:22:09was

00:22:10histat

00:22:11in the

00:22:11streets.

00:22:12She

00:22:12turned

00:22:13into

00:22:13an

00:22:13object

00:22:14of

00:22:14vilification

00:22:15and people

00:22:15were throwing

00:22:16bricks and

00:22:16stones through

00:22:17the palace

00:22:17windows and

00:22:18smashing the

00:22:18windows.

00:22:19It was a

00:22:20public relations

00:22:21disaster.

00:22:22But it was as

00:22:23nothing compared

00:22:24with the other

00:22:25scandal of that

00:22:26summer.

00:22:27A constitutional

00:22:28crisis.

00:22:29Some people said

00:22:30it was caused

00:22:30by Victoria's

00:22:31naivety.

00:22:32Others said

00:22:33worse,

00:22:34her arrogance.

00:22:36At this time,

00:22:37Britain had two

00:22:37main political

00:22:38parties.

00:22:39parties, the

00:22:40progressive

00:22:40Whigs and

00:22:41the more

00:22:42conservative

00:22:42Tories.

00:22:44In May

00:22:451839, the

00:22:46Whig Party

00:22:46almost lost a

00:22:47crucial vote

00:22:48and Prime

00:22:49Minister

00:22:49Melbourne

00:22:50resigned.

00:22:51This

00:22:51triggered a

00:22:51change of

00:22:52government.

00:22:53The

00:22:53Queen was

00:22:53horrified when

00:22:55power passed

00:22:55to the Tories

00:22:56that she

00:22:56loathed and

00:22:57their leader,

00:22:58Sir Robert

00:22:58Peel, whom

00:22:59she disliked.

00:23:00She was

00:23:00furious.

00:23:01As a token

00:23:03of her

00:23:03confidence,

00:23:04Robert

00:23:04Peel wants

00:23:05her to

00:23:06dismiss some

00:23:07of the

00:23:07ladies of

00:23:08the

00:23:08bedchamber,

00:23:09ladies-in-waiting,

00:23:10who are

00:23:11married to

00:23:11Whig peers

00:23:12because he

00:23:13thinks the

00:23:13Queen is

00:23:13too close

00:23:14to the

00:23:15Whigs.

00:23:16And Queen

00:23:16Victoria says,

00:23:18no, I

00:23:19won't do

00:23:19that.

00:23:19She stabs

00:23:20her foot.

00:23:20Peel said,

00:23:21well, if

00:23:21that's your

00:23:21attitude, then

00:23:22I'm not

00:23:23going to

00:23:23be your

00:23:23Prime

00:23:23Minister.

00:23:24And she

00:23:25thought that

00:23:25she'd won

00:23:26that round,

00:23:26not realising,

00:23:27of course,

00:23:27that it showed

00:23:28that the

00:23:29government of

00:23:30the country

00:23:30couldn't go

00:23:31on unless

00:23:31the politicians,

00:23:33not the

00:23:33monarch,

00:23:35had control.

00:23:36Melbourne's

00:23:36Whig Party

00:23:37returned to

00:23:38government but

00:23:39was seriously

00:23:40weakened.

00:23:41The Queen had

00:23:42disrespected

00:23:42parliamentary

00:23:43process like a

00:23:44high-handed

00:23:45Hannah Varian.

00:23:48The proper

00:23:49workings of the

00:23:50constitutional

00:23:51process were

00:23:52being messed

00:23:53with by just

00:23:54a little

00:23:54girl.

00:23:56Melbourne was

00:23:57thought to be

00:23:58egging her on

00:23:58like a

00:23:59lovesick old

00:24:00fool.

00:24:01People,

00:24:02important people,

00:24:03began to think

00:24:04that she really

00:24:05needed a man

00:24:06to stop her

00:24:07from doing

00:24:07this sort

00:24:08of thing.

00:24:08She needed

00:24:09a husband.

00:24:12Melbourne in

00:24:13particular

00:24:14realised that

00:24:15they needed

00:24:16something,

00:24:16they needed

00:24:17to manage

00:24:17the news,

00:24:19they needed

00:24:20some propaganda

00:24:20moment and

00:24:21a little bit

00:24:22of magic.

00:24:24This was the

00:24:24reason Albert

00:24:25came back,

00:24:26the hope that

00:24:27a romantic story

00:24:28would provide

00:24:29the public

00:24:30relations solution.

00:24:31Love conquers

00:24:33all.

00:24:33But could it

00:24:34prevent rebellion?

00:24:36As soon as the

00:24:37engagement was

00:24:38announced,

00:24:39Melbourne began

00:24:39to plot the

00:24:40wedding day.

00:24:41He deliberately

00:24:42chose a small,

00:24:44rather plain

00:24:45venue for this

00:24:46people-friendly

00:24:46couple,

00:24:47the Chapel

00:24:48Royal inside

00:24:49St. James's

00:24:50Palace.

00:24:51Our challenge

00:24:52to find a venue

00:24:53that feels like

00:24:54that chapel,

00:24:55seen here in

00:24:56George Hayter's

00:24:57painting of the

00:24:57event.

00:24:58Could the city

00:24:59of Winchester

00:25:01hold the answer?

00:25:03Jasdeep Singh

00:25:03is a military

00:25:04historian with a

00:25:05special interest

00:25:06in Prince Albert.

00:25:08He's trawled

00:25:08dozens of

00:25:09churches to

00:25:10try to find

00:25:11the right place

00:25:12for our

00:25:12reconstruction.

00:25:14You've seen

00:25:14this one online,

00:25:15it looks great.

00:25:16I've got a good

00:25:16feeling.

00:25:22Go on,

00:25:22go on.

00:25:24Aha!

00:25:27Now this

00:25:27looks pretty

00:25:29good, I

00:25:29would say.

00:25:30It's perfect.

00:25:31Do you think

00:25:31that the search

00:25:32could be over?

00:25:33It's got the

00:25:34feeling, hasn't

00:25:34it?

00:25:35Just imagine.

00:25:38Richard II

00:25:39was on the

00:25:40throne when

00:25:40Winchester

00:25:41College, a

00:25:42boys'

00:25:43boarding school,

00:25:44was established.

00:25:46It's fabulous

00:25:47panelling.

00:25:50This will be

00:25:51a very grand

00:25:52royal stand-in.

00:25:52Winchester

00:25:54College

00:25:54chapel dates

00:25:55from 1395,

00:25:57so it's older

00:25:58than St James's,

00:25:59but the

00:26:00proportions of

00:26:01it seem

00:26:01exactly right.

00:26:03It's long

00:26:04and narrow,

00:26:05just what we

00:26:05want.

00:26:09Every wedding

00:26:10needs music,

00:26:12so we've

00:26:12called in

00:26:13composer Nick

00:26:14Ryan to

00:26:15investigate

00:26:15ours.

00:26:16But he's

00:26:17come up

00:26:17against a

00:26:18hurdle.

00:26:19Victoria and

00:26:20Albert famously

00:26:21loved music,

00:26:22but what was

00:26:23chosen or

00:26:24composed for

00:26:24their ceremony

00:26:25is hard to

00:26:26discover.

00:26:30The music is

00:26:31such an

00:26:32important creator

00:26:33of atmosphere

00:26:34and emotion

00:26:35at a wedding.

00:26:36I want to find

00:26:37out what music

00:26:38was played,

00:26:39who selected

00:26:40it, and

00:26:41why.

00:26:42To Oxford

00:26:43and the

00:26:43Christchurch

00:26:44College Music

00:26:45Library.

00:26:47Matthias, hi.

00:26:48Dr Matthias

00:26:49Wange is an

00:26:50expert in

00:26:51royal ceremonial

00:26:52music.

00:26:53We're trying to

00:26:54reconstruct this

00:26:55wedding, and

00:26:56there's very

00:26:57little information

00:26:58about the

00:26:59wedding music.

00:27:00Well, the royal

00:27:01household just

00:27:02didn't keep

00:27:02record.

00:27:03Really?

00:27:04But then we do

00:27:04know, what other

00:27:05reports tell us,

00:27:06that when Prince

00:27:07Albert approached

00:27:09the chapel, there

00:27:09is some idea that

00:27:11the music could

00:27:11have been see the

00:27:12conquering hero

00:27:13come.

00:27:13By Handel.

00:27:14Indeed.

00:27:15It was so well

00:27:16known at the time,

00:27:17so just hearing the

00:27:17tune, people would

00:27:18have associated it

00:27:19with those words,

00:27:20see the conquering

00:27:21hero comes.

00:27:21It seems a bit

00:27:22odd, the idea of

00:27:23him being a

00:27:24conquering hero.

00:27:25Well, he conquered

00:27:26the queen, didn't

00:27:26he?

00:27:27Yes.

00:27:28But we do have

00:27:28one report for

00:27:29when the queen

00:27:30entered, and that

00:27:31tells us that the

00:27:33organist of the

00:27:33chapel royal included

00:27:34Handel's chorus,

00:27:35a virtuous wife

00:27:36shall soften

00:27:37fortune's frowns.

00:27:38Again, a sort of

00:27:40apt choice in music

00:27:42for the bride.

00:27:42She's declared

00:27:43to be a virtuous

00:27:44wife.

00:27:45A melodic line

00:27:46just on the organ.

00:27:47Albert was a great

00:27:49musician, he was a

00:27:50composer.

00:27:51What involvement

00:27:51did he have in the

00:27:52wedding?

00:27:54He was the

00:27:54bridegroom.

00:27:56Obviously.

00:27:57Because we don't

00:27:58know anything of his

00:27:59involvement in the

00:28:00wedding.

00:28:01Do you find it a bit

00:28:01strange?

00:28:02He must have been

00:28:03absolutely desperate

00:28:04to be involved.

00:28:06It's the queen,

00:28:07it's the sovereign,

00:28:07the head of state

00:28:08marrying some foreign

00:28:09prince.

00:28:10They wouldn't have

00:28:11thought of asking

00:28:12him anything.

00:28:13We do know for

00:28:15certainly two pieces

00:28:15which we see on the

00:28:16table, two choral

00:28:17pieces, the so-called

00:28:19Dios Miseriato and

00:28:21the anthem.

00:28:22Nothing specially

00:28:23composed for the

00:28:23wedding but plain

00:28:24repertoire music.

00:28:25So this was

00:28:26actually in popular

00:28:27use?

00:28:28Yes.

00:28:28Yeah.

00:28:29Up and down the

00:28:29country in cathedrals

00:28:30and bigger parish

00:28:31churches where they had

00:28:32a choir.

00:28:32And what about the

00:28:33second piece?

00:28:34There's one verse for

00:28:35four voices and then

00:28:36there's one for two

00:28:38voices, fantastic.

00:28:40Both riches and

00:28:41honour come of thee,

00:28:43come of thee, lovely.

00:28:46Even the music was

00:28:47propaganda.

00:28:49Bride and groom

00:28:49entered the music

00:28:50with a message.

00:28:52His heroism, her

00:28:54virtue.

00:28:55And two choral pieces

00:28:57means Nick must now

00:28:58find us a choir.

00:29:01The royal couple

00:29:03celebrated with the

00:29:04most lavish wedding

00:29:05breakfast.

00:29:06More than a hundred

00:29:07dishes dreamt up by

00:29:08the best chefs in

00:29:09Britain.

00:29:10Food historian Annie

00:29:11Grey is taking up the

00:29:13challenge of recreating

00:29:15the feast.

00:29:16She's found the

00:29:17original menu.

00:29:18Not just fit for any

00:29:19old queen but seemingly

00:29:21created with this one's

00:29:22appetites in mind.

00:29:24What was Queen

00:29:25Victoria's favourite

00:29:26food?

00:29:27Food in general was

00:29:27something that she would

00:29:28embrace.

00:29:29One of her ladies-in-waiting

00:29:30recounts her sitting down

00:29:31to an afternoon tea at

00:29:32one point and putting

00:29:33away several slices of

00:29:34toast and cake and

00:29:36scones and getting to

00:29:37the end and looking with

00:29:38regret and going I

00:29:39suppose I should stop

00:29:40now.

00:29:41And what was food in

00:29:42general like then?

00:29:44A lot of butter, a lot

00:29:45of cream, a lot of

00:29:46brandy.

00:29:47The meat is often

00:29:48larded so that's sowing

00:29:49strips of fat through the

00:29:51flesh of animals.

00:29:52This is a recipe book

00:29:53written by Charles Elmay

00:29:54Francatelli who was the

00:29:56cook to Queen Victoria

00:29:57after William Ball who

00:29:58was the mastermind behind

00:29:59the wedding.

00:29:59So we are fairly certain

00:30:01that his recipes must have

00:30:02reflected the kind of thing

00:30:03he was serving for the

00:30:04Queen.

00:30:04The menu for that day, it's

00:30:06enormous.

00:30:06There are I think about

00:30:07a hundred or so dishes.

00:30:08You've got lamb cutlets which

00:30:09have been fried, fried bird,

00:30:11chicken.

00:30:13Fried bird.

00:30:14Fried bird.

00:30:14That's what they say that

00:30:15Lando is, isn't it?

00:30:16Fried bird.

00:30:17Yeah.

00:30:18On the opposite page, an

00:30:20outlandish dish which looks

00:30:22like a pile of eyeballs.

00:30:24And this is a tambal of macaroni

00:30:27which is tremendously complicated.

00:30:30That involves little tubes of

00:30:31macaroni cut up, put round a

00:30:33mould.

00:30:33Then there's a mousse in the

00:30:35middle and then there's chopped

00:30:36up chicken breasts and then

00:30:37that's been steamed and then

00:30:38turned out of the mould

00:30:39perfectly.

00:30:40I look at that and think I'm not

00:30:41sure how it will come out of the

00:30:42mould.

00:30:43Or indeed how you would go about

00:30:44building it.

00:30:45The most challenging thing is

00:30:46this gâteau au fouetage.

00:30:48It's ten or eleven pieces of

00:30:50puff pastry that need to be

00:30:51piled up on top of each other

00:30:52with the outside then masked

00:30:54with meringue and then a sort

00:30:55of meringue steeple on top.

00:30:57The risk is you end up with a

00:30:58sort of leaning and

00:30:59terapeza effect as it slowly

00:31:00slides to one side.

00:31:01I'm glad to hear there are a

00:31:02few surprises and challenges

00:31:03thrown in for you then.

00:31:05Well, yes.

00:31:08Annie isn't going to cook all

00:31:09the dishes, only the most

00:31:11difficult ones.

00:31:13Mr Ball, head chef at

00:31:14Buckingham Palace, sourced

00:31:15locally where possible.

00:31:17Annie's based close to the

00:31:18Norfolk border and will do

00:31:20the same, much to the

00:31:21surprise of her regular

00:31:23suppliers.

00:31:24So, I'm recreating Victoria

00:31:26and Albert's wedding feast.

00:31:28Well, I can't say I'm not

00:31:30apprehensive.

00:31:31It's quite a long menu.

00:31:33You've got mutton fillets,

00:31:34bird fillets, larded.

00:31:36Sweetbread, which we're going

00:31:37to lard, so need some

00:31:38lardoons as well actually.

00:31:39And the thing with the roast,

00:31:41they're all served with their

00:31:42heads and legs on.

00:31:43Can I get a hair?

00:31:45And I need it whole so that I

00:31:46can skin it and leave the

00:31:47ears on.

00:31:49There was a lot of meat, a lot

00:31:51of alcohol.

00:31:52So, I need probably about a

00:31:55gallon of brandy.

00:31:56Well, there would have been a

00:31:57whole dessert course.

00:31:59Cakes, bread pudding,

00:32:00jellies.

00:32:01I need about two stone of

00:32:03sugar.

00:32:04I do fear that this may have

00:32:06been the meal that broke Mr

00:32:08Ball, the chief cook, because

00:32:10he retired a month later.

00:32:12Oh, it's quite heavy.

00:32:14But it could also have been

00:32:16perhaps his swan song, the

00:32:18pinnacle of his career.

00:32:20So perhaps if I hold on to that

00:32:22thought, it will be a little bit

00:32:23less daunting.

00:32:26For our experiment, the

00:32:28sumptuous interiors of Holcombe

00:32:30Hall in Norfolk are doubling for

00:32:32Buckingham Palace.

00:32:33Built in 1764, it's only a little

00:32:36bit younger and suitably grand.

00:32:38To recreate the wedding

00:32:40breakfast, Annie and her team must

00:32:42resurrect dishes from the distant

00:32:44past at speed in the Georgian

00:32:47kitchens.

00:32:49I'm going to see how disastrous

00:32:51this pudding is.

00:32:52Rehearsals are vital.

00:32:54Every recipe must be tested.

00:32:57This is experimental.

00:32:58I'm not quite sure of the

00:33:00amounts for this mould or whether

00:33:01the whole thing will split apart.

00:33:03So what I want to do is I want to

00:33:05test it so there are no nasty

00:33:07surprises on the day.

00:33:08I'd hate to serve Queen Victoria

00:33:10and Prince Albert a kind of split

00:33:12pudding.

00:33:13Oh, it's looking good.

00:33:15Addy's next big challenge, the

00:33:17wedding cake, nine feet in

00:33:19circumference, 300 pounds in

00:33:22weight.

00:33:22There were smaller cakes sent out

00:33:25to friends, relatives and

00:33:26embassies, but the main cake was

00:33:28such a monster.

00:33:29It had to be baked in sections.

00:33:32The first problem is the lack of

00:33:34original giant baking tins.

00:33:37The solution?

00:33:38Victorian metalwork specialist

00:33:40David LaVersha.

00:33:41Copper has always been the best

00:33:44material to use for

00:33:45cookware because of the way it

00:33:46transmits heat.

00:33:48I tried to see how people with

00:33:50nose time work with copper.

00:33:53They weren't making everything

00:33:54machine perfect.

00:33:55The tin was quite large, so we're

00:33:58assuming it was made in two

00:34:00sections, two D-shapes.

00:34:02Now, 170 years ago, they would

00:34:04have been doing what I'm doing

00:34:05here.

00:34:06They'd mark it out probably with

00:34:07chalk.

00:34:09Cut it by hand.

00:34:10It's quite soft.

00:34:13All hammered together tightly.

00:34:15When the dish is finished, it has to

00:34:17be coated with tin to prevent the

00:34:18copper from oxidising when it's in

00:34:20the oven.

00:34:21Copper will oxidise and will poison

00:34:24anyone that eats the cake

00:34:27eventually.

00:34:29The half-moon tin will have to be filled eight times to build the towering edifice once we've found our

00:34:36baker.

00:34:41In the winter of 1839, Melbourne plotted the make-or-break matrimonials that had to launch a new kind of

00:34:50royal family.

00:34:53The day had to go without a hitch.

00:34:5618 months earlier, lack of stage management had made Victoria's coronation a bit of a farce.

00:35:03Victoria's coronation was a sort of comedy of errors.

00:35:07It's an exhausting long ceremony of five and a half hours.

00:35:11Queen Victoria was constantly wandering around.

00:35:13Nobody had told her to join the ceremony where to go to the lavatory.

00:35:17The Archbishop of Canterbury made a dreadful error with the Ring of State.

00:35:22The Archbishop put the Ring on the wrong finger and jammed it on, so she had an agonising time.

00:35:29Another bishop accidentally turned over two pages of the Order of Service, leaving the Queen in the wrong place.

00:35:36And then poor Lord Roll.

00:35:38An ancient, 82-year-old peer, who came up to pay homage to the Queen.

00:35:43So, of course, Lord Roll failed backwards down the steps and people thought he'd died.

00:35:47And Victoria breaks with protocol, stands up, helps him up.

00:35:52And this is actually the big story of the day.

00:35:55Headlines told how the young Queen had leapt from her throne to save a pensioner.

00:36:00And the coronation disaster became a PR hit.

00:36:04Melbourne knew that good press had to be integral to his stage management.

00:36:10What he planned was stupendously audacious.

00:36:14He had the idea of inventing a new tradition.

00:36:18To use the wedding to distract the British people from many forts of rebellion or revolution.

00:36:24And this would be vital for the future of the monarchy.

00:36:27And given Melbourne's personal feelings, it was a sacrifice for him.

00:36:33He was making a gift of love to Victoria.

00:36:41Melbourne's wedding plan involved three separate carriage journeys.

00:36:46After the terrible summer, the popularity of the monarchy was at a new low.

00:36:51The people had to see their Queen, to fall back in love with her.

00:36:57It wasn't just the Queen who needed better public relations.

00:37:00Albert was in trouble as well.

00:37:03The Saxe-Coburgs are not popular with the British.

00:37:06And there's a lot of talk about, you know, German beggars and princelings coming to sort of help themselves to

00:37:13English Queens.

00:37:14In the press, you will see cartoons of him as a German sausage shop owner, shuttering up his sausage shop

00:37:22in order to come over to Britain to take advantage, really, of this wealthy young woman.

00:37:28One result of this is that Albert is voted a rather insultingly low allowance by Parliament, which Victoria is most

00:37:37annoyed by.

00:37:37She wrote,

00:37:48The Queen believed that Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, a leading Tory politician, was the person behind the salary

00:37:57injustice.

00:37:57Her request to have Albert made an honorary Field Marshal, the highest rank in the British Army, might soothe the

00:38:04Prince's hurt pride.

00:38:06But young Albert had no military experience.

00:38:10How must he have felt?

00:38:11Historian Jasdeep is a curator at the National Army Museum.

00:38:15The museum holds over 80,000 pieces of uniform and equipment.

00:38:20It's one of the best collections available.

00:38:26I'm really interested in the psyche behind Albert, the thought process that Albert was going through, but to explore that

00:38:34through uniform, explore that through clothing.

00:38:37The British officer's red coat is iconic.

00:38:41Even now, when we put any uniform or clothing on, it transforms a person.

00:38:45But if you're wearing the Field Marshal's coat, you're wearing something right at the top of the Army rank structure,

00:38:53what might that have done to a man of 20, new to the country, keen on making an impact and

00:38:58a statement?

00:38:59This is our sword store.

00:39:01In any age, there are very few Field Marshal's, so surviving uniforms are rare.

00:39:07But Jasdeep has access to 180-year-old elements of the kind of uniform Albert wore.

00:39:13Oh, look at that.

00:39:15Albert went to his wedding, knowing he'd be surrounded by senior soldiers, among them, the most famous Field Marshal alive.

00:39:24These actual epaulettes belong to the Duke of Wellington, worn on his shoulders.

00:39:30Albert knows he's unpopular with the press.

00:39:32He's unpopular with the British public.

00:39:34He's German.

00:39:35He is stepping into the highest position in the Army with no experience.

00:39:39He's got grand old dukes, like the Duke of Wellington, standing over him and judging him.

00:39:46And when he wears this uniform, there's a sense of Albert having to not just don the role of a

00:39:53Field Marshal, but also to fit that expectation.

00:39:58And that's a tall order.

00:40:00But I'm a bit surprised by the size.

00:40:02It just looks tiny to me.

00:40:04It just looks so small.

00:40:07All the living Field Marshal's were little old men, so strapping Albert couldn't have borrowed a uniform.

00:40:15Where did he get it from?

00:40:17This company on London's Savile Row were Albert's tailors.

00:40:21But a bespoke suit takes weeks to make, and Albert was 48 hours from the altar.

00:40:27Albert only had the best.

00:40:30But could he have had a complex military uniform made in double quick time?

00:40:36It's possible that this tailoring house stepped in.

00:40:39Curator James Sherwood has the proof that Albert was at least in the order books straight after the wedding, suggesting

00:40:46a relationship.

00:40:48This is the earliest letter that we have touting for business to Prince Albert for April 1840.

00:40:54So just after the wedding?

00:40:56Yes.

00:40:56They acknowledge that he's been made the colonel-in-chief of the 11th Hussars.

00:41:01So he's only been made, the Field Marshal, a couple of days before the wedding.

00:41:06What could the turnaround for a Field Marshal's uniform be?

00:41:09Well, because Hawks & Co. were such great military tailors, they know exactly what they're doing.

00:41:15The house would have had an absolute legion of outworkers, so a tunic could be made within 24 hours.

00:41:21There wouldn't be any problem with that.

00:41:23So yes, it's entirely possible that that could be done.

00:41:26All resources being thrown into this?

00:41:28It would be all hands to the deck for Prince Albert, absolutely.

00:41:33The final preparations for our royal wedding in Winchester College are underway.

00:41:41Having discovered that there were two sung pieces of music for the service,

00:41:45Nick Ryan has enlisted a choir.

00:41:50Gloria's name!

00:41:56Can I just say thank you, thank you so much?

00:42:01These choristers aren't from Winchester.

00:42:03They're in the nearby town of Romsey, and they're well-seasoned veterans of many a wedding.

00:42:08Here at Romsey, we have around 40 weddings a year.

00:42:11We've not had these two pieces as requests before.

00:42:15The interesting thing, I suppose, is the amount of Handel, which was in this ceremony.

00:42:19Handel had such an effect on music in England.

00:42:24He really was the top of the charts.

00:42:26Handel was so good, so popular, that no-one else really wrote much.

00:42:30Isn't that why England was known to Germany as the land with no music?

00:42:34Precisely so.

00:42:36It's almost like English music froze from Handel all the way up to the late 1800s and Elgar.

00:42:43So your choir must sing all sorts of different kinds of music.

00:42:46How has it been for them to sing these two pieces?

00:42:50I mean, I think it's a bit of a miracle that you can get today's kids, 21st century kids,

00:42:54singing music from the 18th, 19th century, 17th, 16th century.

00:42:59But actually, they don't care if something's 500 years old.

00:43:02If it's good, it's good.

00:43:03So we're days away from the performance, the reconstruction of this wedding.

00:43:08Are we getting there?

00:43:09I think so, yes.

00:43:25It's so exciting.

00:43:28It's the first wedding dress that is iconic.

00:43:31It's the mother of all wedding dresses, this one, in every way.

00:43:35Harriet Waterhouse still has several miles of satin to sew.

00:43:40This is a fantastic dress to make because this is Duchess satin.

00:43:45It has a lovely sheen to it, but not shiny.

00:43:48It's particularly lovely.

00:43:49You do find when you're sewing that you have a feeling about the people who worked on it.

00:43:54I shall be sewing and thinking about the seamstresses.

00:44:03With just 48 hours before the start of our royal wedding, the huge tin has been delivered to Smiths the

00:44:10Bakers in Kings Lynn.

00:44:12They will be taking on the big bake.

00:44:14But then they do have the royal warrant to purvey cakes to the Queen when she's at Sandringham.

00:44:19Now they're working for her great-great-grandmother.

00:44:25There's over 200 eggs going in the completed cake.

00:44:29£64 a butler, which is 128 packs.

00:44:32Cherries, currants, and plenty of brandy.

00:44:35If anyone left the reception super, I'd be surprised.

00:44:39What's worrying me is the size and the weight of it,

00:44:43because it's going to take eight of these tins to make the full-size cake.

00:44:48If it weighs anything like the original one, which was £300,

00:44:53that is not easily moved about.

00:44:56We've got to get it right.

00:45:00The tin will be filled seven more times before Paul can begin building the cake.

00:45:05The challenge then will be getting it into our Buckingham Palace, Holcombe Hall.

00:45:16The mechanism Melbourne had constructed for just this moment

00:45:20was now running at full speed.

00:45:24Today we're all used to the concept of royal wedding fever,

00:45:29but then Britain was in the grip of it for the very first time.

00:45:34There was the press speculation.

00:45:36There was the gossip.

00:45:38Charles Dickens wrote a satirical piece,

00:45:41but then in private he admitted that he too really was in love with the Queen.

00:45:49We all know how to participate in a royal wedding,

00:45:53and we imagine the ceremonial processes,

00:45:55as well as those celebratory traditions,

00:45:59have been laid down for centuries.

00:46:00Well, they're really only as old as 1840,

00:46:04and they were constructed by Melbourne and Victoria and the people around them.

00:46:11And really what you get is the creation of this machine,

00:46:14and it's a machine for producing spectacle.

00:46:17It's a machine for, in a way,

00:46:19encouraging a national participation in this event.

00:46:24It makes it hard to ignore.

00:46:26Melbourne worked with the press.

00:46:29He kept the public informed of the wedding schedule.

00:46:32The haughty Hanoverians never dreamt of such openness.

00:46:35Melbourne insisted that the wedding should take place in daylight.

00:46:38It was a completely new event.

00:46:41Royal weddings in the past had been in palaces,

00:46:45usually late at night.

00:46:46They'd been very, very private.

00:46:48This was a royal wedding for the people.

00:46:54As the big day loomed,

00:46:56the Buckingham Palace cooks laboured round the clock.

00:46:59In our Holcombe Hall kitchen,

00:47:01Annie Gray's team is hard at work

00:47:02on the first course of the wedding breakfast.

00:47:06Dishes not seen in any kitchen for centuries now come to life.

00:47:11The macaroni tembale that alarmed Annie is coming together at speed.

00:47:16The garden soup, peas, cabbage and turnips,

00:47:19was the opening gambit chosen by the royal chef, Mr Ball.

00:47:23It'll go at one end of the table,

00:47:25mirrored at the other end by the fish.

00:47:28And what a fish it is!

00:47:29The mighty turbot was a rare treat.

00:47:33This one weighs in at eight kilos.

00:47:36This particular turbot's going to be served very simply.

00:47:39Turbot à l'anglaise, English turbot.

00:47:42So it's just going to be boiled,

00:47:43having been rubbed with some salt and lemon juice,

00:47:45and served with a very simple lobster sauce.

00:47:48It's really deceptive, isn't it?

00:47:50Because, I mean, you just think,

00:47:50oh, well, anyone can cook that,

00:47:52lemon, salt, whatever,

00:47:53but ruining something like this...

00:47:55Your life wouldn't be worth living, would it?

00:47:56Criminal.

00:47:57Even now.

00:47:57And, of course, it has to be done

00:47:59exactly at the point of serving.

00:48:01And Victoria and Albert were usually late for dinner.

00:48:04One of the most time-consuming processes is larding.

00:48:08Sewing strips of bacon, in this case, through sweetbreads,

00:48:11the neck glands of a sheep.

00:48:14In 1840, Buckingham Palace was no place to be a vegetarian.

00:48:18Amongst the first wave of dishes,

00:48:20there was a lot of mutton, a favourite of Her Majesty's.

00:48:22Mr Ball's team larded multiple saddles of mutton with fat,

00:48:28then braised them and glazed them and served them with mash.

00:48:31Good to have a bit of carbohydrate for balance.

00:48:34No Victorian party would be complete

00:48:36without that classic 19th-century dish,

00:48:39the raised pie.

00:48:41Mr Ball's pigeon pies were made in the traditional manner,

00:48:45stuffed full of pigeon breast,

00:48:47force-meat stuffing,

00:48:48and then, in this case,

00:48:50a few little beets poking out of the top,

00:48:52just so the diners knew what the pie was.

00:48:56In case they were still in doubt,

00:48:59the other pie will have a full pigeon in flight

00:49:02sticking out of the top.

00:49:05Taxidermy heaven.

00:49:09On the cold, wet night of Sunday, February 9th, 1840,

00:49:15the palace kitchens were the hive of activity.

00:49:18Upstairs, there was also work going on.

00:49:22In her room,

00:49:23the Queen shared her thoughts with her journal.

00:49:26She wrote,

00:49:26It was my last unmarried evening,

00:49:29which made me feel so odd.

00:49:31Then she recalled seeing Lord Melbourne,

00:49:34who'd been as emotional as ever.

00:49:37Again she wrote,

00:49:38I took his hand and pressed it,

00:49:41and thanked him for all his kindness,

00:49:43which I hoped he would continue.

00:49:45Melbourne knew his work was done.

00:49:49He had to let her go.

00:49:56As the Queen retired,

00:49:58the palace clockwinders began their work.

00:50:00Citizens all over the country did the same.

00:50:04When the nation's clocks were next wound,

00:50:07Britain would be a different place,

00:50:10changed by the union of two young people,

00:50:13who together would put her on a new course.

00:50:21The Queen wakes up at 8.45,

00:50:24and at 11,

00:50:25she begins to dress.

00:50:27Preparations that will affect the way

00:50:29so many brides in the future appear before their public.

00:50:35Just hours before the wedding,

00:50:37Albert writes to the woman he knows best,

00:50:40Coburg Duchess Caroline Amelie.

00:50:43She's actually his grandfather's second wife,

00:50:46but the person he loves,

00:50:47trusts,

00:50:48and calls grandmama.

00:50:51Albert had a great affection for his grandmother

00:50:54and clearly was very upset at having to leave her behind.

00:50:59He wept when he left Coburg,

00:51:02when he had to say farewell to everyone.

00:51:03It was all uncharted waters for him.

00:51:09It's time.

00:51:11The big day is here at last.

00:51:13It's a wedding day,

00:51:14and we're all invited.

00:51:16Here at Winchester College,

00:51:17when we step into the chapel,

00:51:19it will be the 10th of February, 1840.

00:51:23And the weather couldn't be more perfect,

00:51:26just as it was then.

00:51:27It's really cold and wet.

00:51:36For our ceremony,

00:51:37the chapel at Winchester College is almost ready.

00:51:42The wedding cake begins its journey

00:51:45to the dining room at Holcombe Hall,

00:51:47our Buckingham Palace.

00:51:49The original set a fashion for rich fruit cakes

00:51:52for royal weddings to come,

00:51:54a tradition only recently broken by Meghan and Harry

00:51:57with their lemon and elderflower cake.

00:52:03Our guests are also preparing.

00:52:06I'm very pleased with the fake hair I'm going to get.

00:52:10I couldn't miss the chance to dress up for a royal wedding.

00:52:14Silk stockings.

00:52:16Ooh, lovely.

00:52:17What's this?

00:52:18Oh!

00:52:19I quite like the look of this.

00:52:20Yes, I thought you might.

00:52:21I and those people will get the chance to experience

00:52:25It's near as first-hand as is possible,

00:52:28that wedding ceremony.

00:52:29How exciting.

00:52:30It's brilliant, isn't it?

00:52:30It is.

00:52:31So jealous.

00:52:32Are you jealous that you're not dressing up too?

00:52:34Yes, absolutely.

00:52:41At the palace, Albert has bathed

00:52:43and is helped into his bespoke uniform,

00:52:46fresh from his Mayfair tailors.

00:52:49Victoria is in her dress.

00:52:52She's assisted by the very stylish Duchess of Sutherland.

00:52:56The Duchess stage managed as far as the clothes were concerned.

00:53:00She was a kind of progressive.

00:53:02She was in favour of reform

00:53:04and she certainly would have filled Queen Victoria's head

00:53:07with the idea of progress.

00:53:09This morning, the Duchess is no doubt pleased

00:53:12that the dress has a political message.

00:53:14It's put bread on the tables of British artisans.

00:53:18Victoria wanted to help British crafts

00:53:21and impoverished British tradesmen

00:53:24who, had they not had that fantastic commission

00:53:28over those winter months before the wedding,

00:53:30would all have been literally starving.

00:53:36Twelve o'clock.

00:53:37Prince Albert, his father Ernst I

00:53:40and his brother Ernst II

00:53:42are in the first carriage to go to St. James's Palace.

00:53:46They're bound for the private chapel inside.

00:53:55Our performers represent wedding guests

00:53:58who've been travelling, some of them for days, to get here.

00:54:02Most of these guests have money

00:54:05and they have dressed to impress the Queen.

00:54:08They're sporting wool, linen, perhaps silk,

00:54:12woven by Huguenots in East London.

00:54:14And some may be wearing more exotic fabrics

00:54:18imported from India and China

00:54:21by the East India Company.

00:54:29Wellington, the Iron Duke, hero of Waterloo,

00:54:33is one of the few Tories the Queen's invited.

00:54:36And then, only because Melbourne insisted,

00:54:39Victoria dislikes these Conservatives.

00:54:42All of her friends, and of course Melbourne himself,

00:54:44are members of the more progressive Whig Party.

00:54:47Nick Ryan and Jazdeep Singh have joined me

00:54:51to observe from the 21st century.

00:54:55The guests await the arrival of the Queen and her Prince

00:54:58just as they did on that cold February morning.

00:55:03Among them, foreign potentates, including one couple

00:55:06whose presence demonstrates the international significance

00:55:09of this wedding.

00:55:11The American ambassador and his wife

00:55:14is amongst the audience, you know,

00:55:16in spite of the fact that America had become independent

00:55:19and even more recently, that in the War of 1812,

00:55:22the British had invaded the United States.

00:55:31Now Victoria begins her carriage journey to St James's,

00:55:34less than a quarter of a mile from Buckingham Palace.

00:55:37At the centre of the district is St James's Park,

00:55:40now full of loyal citizens.

00:55:45In the park itself, even the trees were full of people

00:55:48and occasionally a branch would break

00:55:51and they'd tumble into the mud, causing great hilarity.

00:55:53But it wasn't just here in the capital.

00:55:56The entire population of Britain

00:55:58was in a state of romantic delirium.

00:56:01Prince Albert has arrived before Victoria

00:56:03and awaits his moment to enter the chapel.

00:56:11The Queen, meanwhile, is in a side room with her bridesmaids.

00:56:15She wrote,

00:56:16My 12 young train bearers were dressed all in white,

00:56:20with white roses, which had a beautiful effect.

00:56:23This is the mother of all-white wedding dresses.

00:56:28It's quite shockingly, radically simple.

00:56:33What everybody was expecting to see was a shanty golden dress.

00:56:38This is a perfect example of Melbourne's stage management.

00:56:42The satin has to be seen in the half-light

00:56:45to appreciate its explosive effect.

00:56:48You can see that it really does glow in the dark.

00:56:51That's what the white does.

00:56:53And Victoria is a visionary when it comes to her wedding dress.

00:56:57Millions of people will follow in her wake.

00:57:02Some people are less impressed with the bridesmaids

00:57:05than Victoria herself,

00:57:06saying that there's no danger of them outshining her

00:57:09because they look like a bunch of village girls.

00:57:11The ladies are, in fact, all aristocratic,

00:57:14but the list has been the subject of a heated debate

00:57:17between Victoria and Albert.

00:57:22Albert had demanded that only the virginal daughters

00:57:26of aristocratic mothers with impeccable morals

00:57:29could be train-bearers.

00:57:31This causes a problem.

00:57:33Lord Melbourne will not put up with this at all,

00:57:36and he says, you know,

00:57:37it's impossible to find 12 daughters of the English aristocracy

00:57:42whose parents do not have lives that are tarnished in some ways

00:57:46by scandal or illegitimacy.

00:57:48And Victoria is a realist.

00:57:50The list of tainted bridesmaids is allowed to stand,

00:57:55including the daughter of the late king's mistress, Lady Jersey.

00:58:00And right there, with her laissez-faire

00:58:03and Albert's uptight morality,

00:58:05we've got a glimpse of differences to come between our lovers.

00:58:11And now, the music that signals Albert's entrance.

00:58:15He's been back in Britain for just a few days.

00:58:18He will now live here for the rest of his life.

00:58:28Albert comes into this piece by handle.

00:58:32Hail, the conquering hero comes.

00:58:42He is a conqueror.

00:58:43He's stamping down on prejudices about his background

00:58:48and conquering his queen's heart.

00:58:56It's amazing to see him in context,

00:58:58looking into the history,

00:59:00feeling the sort of intake of breath as he arrives.

00:59:04Albert goes up to his future mother-in-law, the Duchess of Kent,

00:59:08and kisses her very fondly.

00:59:11People have already noticed that Albert is building bridges

00:59:15between Victoria and her mother.

00:59:18Victoria's really good at holding a grudge.

00:59:21She still loathes her mother.

00:59:23But Albert can see that this is problematic, if not dangerous.

00:59:27Albert is determined to heal that feud.

00:59:31This is the Saxe-Coburg family.

00:59:32We must be united.

00:59:35Also, Albert is dubious about Victoria's replacement mother,

00:59:40her governess, Leighton.

00:59:43Albert might be jealous of the love Victoria feels for her old governess.

00:59:48They even had adjoining bedrooms.

00:59:51Might also be snobbishness, because Leighton was born a commoner.

00:59:55Baroness Leighton is controlling the things that Albert wants to control,

01:00:00particularly the finances of the court.

01:00:02He might even already be thinking about plans to ease Leighton out.

01:00:15The ceremony is about to begin.

01:00:19Albert waits for his bride.

01:00:24All eyes are on the groom, in his field marshal's uniform.

01:00:30Albert is just feet away from the Duke of Wellington.

01:00:34He probably chooses not to catch his eye,

01:00:36because he knows this national hero almost didn't get invited

01:00:40after he'd upset Victoria over Albert's salary.

01:00:46So you have this German boy, dressed up for the first time in his life,

01:00:50as an English field marshal, which must in itself have been a pretty scary experience.

01:00:56The Duke of Wellington was a very scary person.

01:00:58And all around, these old soldiers, who were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars,

01:01:04he must have been extremely frightened.

01:01:08The Duke has also been quite ill, and while the whole court went to visit his bedside,

01:01:13Victoria refused to go.

01:01:21This was fabulous in rehearsal,

01:01:23and now you can really feel the effect of these youthful voices in such an ancient setting.

01:01:48Everybody here has become a cog in this new machine,

01:01:53the royal wedding machine that will steamroller its way through the next couple of centuries.

01:02:00What's happening here will change the way that life is lived in this world,

01:02:05the world of 1840,

01:02:07but it will also affect the future, with millions of white weddings to come.

01:02:14It's a great aesthetic decision, this, because Victoria is clad in pristine, virginal white.

01:02:21You know, there's nothing clean and white in London in 1840.

01:02:25That dress must really have burned itself onto the retina.

01:02:33It's much more than just a wedding of two young people.

01:02:37It is scene one of a great drama,

01:02:41which is going to be the unfolding of modern constitutional monarchy.

01:02:56Victoria enters to music chosen for its message.

01:03:00Handel's a virtuous wife shall soften fortune's frowns.

01:03:05The moment everyone has waited for,

01:03:08the Queen makes her entrance.

01:03:19This is what the experiment is all about.

01:03:22Sitting here in the middle of it,

01:03:24I can't help but be swept up in enthusiasm

01:03:28for the little Queen,

01:03:30for the romance,

01:03:31for the monarchy itself.

01:03:35This is perhaps the only flaw in the brilliant plan.

01:03:39The Queen's train is a bit too short for so many bridesmaids,

01:03:42and they're treading on each other's heels.

01:03:46The chapel's so narrow,

01:03:48everyone is near enough to hear the rustle of all that satin.

01:04:04Dearly beloved,

01:04:06we are gathered here...

01:04:09Even though we're recreating all of this,

01:04:11I'm getting an insight into how the royal magic works.

01:04:19Something else made obvious by reconstructing the wedding,

01:04:22the Queen has placed her mother just out of her eyeline,

01:04:26but can easily catch the adoring glances

01:04:29of her dear friend, Baroness Leighton.

01:04:35In the corner,

01:04:37the Queen's favourite painter

01:04:38is making sketches for the wedding picture

01:04:40that will take two years to finish.

01:04:45George Hayter produces the first great portrait of her

01:04:49while she's on the throne,

01:04:50and Victoria and Albert commission him

01:04:53to produce the official wedding portrait,

01:04:56which is something from a perfect world.

01:04:58It's burnished and soft focus.

01:05:01Secondly,

01:05:03it was ordained Christ's holy body...

01:05:05While the archbishop deals with the sins of the flesh,

01:05:08many in the congregation are looking at Albert's family.

01:05:12Albert's father and his brother were philanderers,

01:05:15and it was a horror that he really never came to terms with.

01:05:19Albert was very frightened

01:05:21of the consequences of sexual license, of profligacy.

01:05:26He was very proper, very moral, right from the beginning.

01:05:30And keep themselves undefiled members of Christ's holy body.

01:05:35This union would bring Germany and Britain

01:05:39closer together than ever before.

01:05:41It was supposed to ensure international security,

01:05:45keep Europe safe.

01:05:47And this would work,

01:05:49at least for a while.

01:05:51With our wedding wife,

01:05:53to live together...

01:05:54As the ceremony progressed,

01:05:56many observers later noted

01:05:58how Victoria had locked her eyes on Albert

01:06:00throughout the ceremony.

01:06:01How she looked pale and slightly drawn.

01:06:04The press cast it as charming, innocent and girlish.

01:06:09Perhaps she's waiting for the most important word

01:06:12in the entire service.

01:06:15Victoria, with our bay here...

01:06:17Now this is the big breath moment.

01:06:20There's been so much speculation

01:06:22about the exact form of words they're going to use.

01:06:25What everybody wants to know is,

01:06:27is she going to use the O word?

01:06:30Would thou obey him?

01:06:33I will.

01:06:36She insisted, when it came to the vows,

01:06:39that no, she was going to vow to obey Albert

01:06:43because she said,

01:06:44I want to be married as any other woman

01:06:47and not as a queen.

01:06:51As with many a royal bride,

01:06:53Victoria's father isn't here to give her away.

01:06:56Her favourite uncle, the Duke of Sussex, stands in.

01:07:00Just at any other wedding,

01:07:02there was a certain amount of gossiping

01:07:04and sniping from the congregation.

01:07:07This Duke here was famously skint.

01:07:10And some people were saying

01:07:13that he was only too pleased to give away

01:07:15what wasn't his.

01:07:17For as long as you both...

01:07:19This Duke will die with no legitimate children,

01:07:23which means that his title will die with him.

01:07:26With this ring...

01:07:27The Sussex title, that's...

01:07:29Meghan and Harry, of course,

01:07:31now have assumed that title

01:07:33and it's been revived.

01:07:36With this ring, I thee wed.

01:07:38With my body, I thee worship.

01:07:40With my body, I thee worship.

01:07:42In the name of the Father.

01:07:44In the name of the Father.

01:07:46And the Son.

01:07:47And the Holy Ghost.

01:07:48And the Holy Ghost.

01:07:49Amen.

01:07:50Amen.

01:07:54This is the climax.

01:07:57Victoria will say later

01:07:58that this was the best moment of all.

01:08:02She and Albert have actually practiced

01:08:03putting the rings on.

01:08:05She remembered the mess up

01:08:07with the ring at her coronation.

01:08:14And with all my worldly goods,

01:08:16I thee endow.

01:08:17And with all my worldly goods,

01:08:19I thee endow.

01:08:20In the name of the Father.

01:08:21Everybody in the audience

01:08:22is sort of trying to stop themselves

01:08:24bursting out laughing

01:08:25when they know that Albert

01:08:26hasn't got any money.

01:08:27And Victoria is the richest woman

01:08:29in the world, actually.

01:08:40Albert is so near to the finish line.

01:08:43The British people here

01:08:45are probably thinking

01:08:46that he's the country bumpkin

01:08:48about to make good.

01:08:50But I'm pretty sure

01:08:51that he sees it differently.

01:08:53I think he's thinking,

01:08:55I'm about to become

01:08:57the boss of this lot.

01:09:03The Archbishop marries the couple

01:09:05using the same book of common prayer

01:09:07found in every parish church.

01:09:09The Queen might be head of state,

01:09:12but she's also just like

01:09:14any other person

01:09:15who's found their soulmate.

01:09:18Man and wife.

01:09:35This moment caused quite a stir.

01:09:38Lots of guests noticed

01:09:40that while the Queen had been

01:09:41smiling and winking

01:09:43at Baroness Laidson throughout,

01:09:46and now made a special point

01:09:47of kissing Queen Adelaide.

01:09:48And as for her mother,

01:09:50well, she merely shook her hand.

01:09:56In the throne room,

01:09:58the newlyweds sign the register.

01:10:00The Archbishop signs first.

01:10:09They're signing with just their first names,

01:10:13like kings and queens do.

01:10:14No need for any surnames.

01:10:16Of course, everybody knows who they are.

01:10:19As the ceremony finishes,

01:10:21the Queen assembles her pretty maids

01:10:23and gives them all a fabulous gift.

01:10:26A jeweled eagle brooch

01:10:28designed by Prince Albert.

01:10:30In this example at Woburn Abbey,

01:10:33we see the turquoise

01:10:35that stands for true love,

01:10:36the ruby eye for passion,

01:10:39the diamond beak for eternity,

01:10:41and the pearls for beauty.

01:11:09The guests invited to the palace

01:11:11for the wedding breakfast

01:11:12now wait in a withdrawing room.

01:11:14The first dishes are already next door,

01:11:17but they can't start

01:11:18until Victoria and Albert arrive.

01:11:25But rather than joining their guests,

01:11:27they retire to her quarters.

01:11:30Until now,

01:11:31protocol has prevented them

01:11:32spending a moment together alone.

01:11:37Suddenly, now, they're married,

01:11:39and at last,

01:11:40they can shut the door on everybody.

01:11:43And maybe it was quite a frightening moment for them

01:11:46because there they are confronted with reality.

01:11:49And they have a whole lot

01:11:51of discovering to do.

01:11:53In her journal,

01:11:54Victoria says that at this moment,

01:11:56they made vows every bit

01:11:58as important as the ones they made in church.

01:12:01Albert said they must never have secrets

01:12:04from each other.

01:12:07Years later,

01:12:08after he was dead,

01:12:10she made a very poignant annotation

01:12:12to this page.

01:12:13No secrets, he said.

01:12:15And she added,

01:12:16and so it was.

01:12:25In 1840,

01:12:26dinners were served

01:12:27à la Française.

01:12:29It was a beautiful,

01:12:30intricate style of service

01:12:31in which all of the dishes

01:12:32for each course

01:12:33were placed on the table simultaneously,

01:12:35laid out symmetrically.

01:12:37In practice,

01:12:38in the royal palaces,

01:12:38this meant that there was

01:12:40a whole division of people

01:12:41called the table deckers.

01:12:42It was their job

01:12:44to measure out

01:12:45with set squares

01:12:46and tape measures,

01:12:47making sure

01:12:48that the gaps

01:12:49between each plate

01:12:50were perfect,

01:12:51that the table

01:12:51was completely symmetrical,

01:12:53fit, of course,

01:12:54for royalty.

01:13:02In the 20th century,

01:13:04these Georgian kitchens

01:13:06became a tourist attraction.

01:13:07But today,

01:13:09they're going to once again

01:13:10see some culinary gymnastics.

01:13:14A multitude of dishes

01:13:16undergo all kinds of process,

01:13:18glazing, basting,

01:13:20boiling and frying.

01:13:22The royal recipe book

01:13:23calls for some

01:13:24terrifyingly old-school practices.

01:13:27Annie,

01:13:28what is this distressing object?

01:13:31This is a hare.

01:13:33What have you done to it?

01:13:35Well,

01:13:35I've Victorianised it.

01:13:37Today,

01:13:37we would always take the heads

01:13:38and the legs off

01:13:39roast birds

01:13:40and roast meat,

01:13:41and the idea

01:13:42of presenting it

01:13:43like this

01:13:44is really alien.

01:13:45We don't want our food

01:13:46to look like food anymore.

01:13:48No,

01:13:48we like to have

01:13:49nothing that reminds us

01:13:51that anything was once alive

01:13:52on the table,

01:13:53whereas the Victorians

01:13:54were completely the opposite.

01:13:55I think the thing

01:13:56about Victorian food,

01:13:57especially at the high end

01:13:58like this,

01:13:58is it's got to be

01:14:00a feast of all the senses.

01:14:02When you're working

01:14:03with dishes,

01:14:03which in some cases

01:14:04really haven't been cooked

01:14:05for 100 years,

01:14:07if not 150,

01:14:08you do find surprises.

01:14:10And actually,

01:14:10for me,

01:14:11the biggest surprise

01:14:12has been how amazing

01:14:13they all look

01:14:14when they start

01:14:14to come together.

01:14:15I kind of have a vision

01:14:16in my head

01:14:17of how I think

01:14:17it will look,

01:14:18and then it looks

01:14:19even better.

01:14:25Their tryst over,

01:14:26the Queen and Field Marshal,

01:14:28Prince Albert,

01:14:29descend to the

01:14:29withdrawing room,

01:14:30no doubt to the delight

01:14:32of their famished guests.

01:14:35After the ceremony,

01:14:36everybody noticed

01:14:37how radiant she looked.

01:14:39the colour had come back

01:14:40into her pale cheeks.

01:14:42And can you see

01:14:43another part of the magic

01:14:44of the white dress?

01:14:46It makes her stand out

01:14:47in the colourful crowd.

01:14:49Reading between the lines

01:14:50of her journal,

01:14:51it seems the Queen

01:14:52and her new husband

01:14:53invited very few,

01:14:55perhaps 50,

01:14:56of their 300 guests

01:14:57to eat at the palace.

01:15:00An even more select group

01:15:02sit at the table

01:15:03with the newlyweds.

01:15:05The seating plan

01:15:07doesn't survive,

01:15:08but we've worked it out

01:15:09from clues

01:15:10in Victoria's journals.

01:15:12She's between Albert

01:15:13and her uncle,

01:15:14the Duke of Sussex,

01:15:15and you can see

01:15:16the declining

01:15:17of Melbourne's influence

01:15:19by the fact

01:15:20that he's several places away.

01:15:22They've put him

01:15:23in the corner.

01:15:24Where's Victoria's mother,

01:15:26the Duchess of Kent?

01:15:27Well, she had to be here

01:15:29at the family top table,

01:15:30but she's right down

01:15:32the other end.

01:15:32She's out of Victoria's eyeline

01:15:34and earshot.

01:15:36Where's the Duke of Wellington?

01:15:38Well, she was forced

01:15:39to have the nation's hero

01:15:41at the ceremony,

01:15:42but he hasn't made

01:15:43the guest list

01:15:44for the breakfast.

01:15:45This meal is as political

01:15:47as the wedding ceremony

01:15:49had been.

01:15:49The Queen,

01:15:50showing friends

01:15:51and enemies alike

01:15:52their place

01:15:53in the new pecking order.

01:15:55Who sits where?

01:15:56How easily can they

01:15:58catch the Queen's eye

01:15:59or eavesdrop

01:16:00on the conversation?

01:16:01The food must be

01:16:02a mouth-watering relief.

01:16:04The wedding breakfast

01:16:05was characteristically

01:16:07lavish and huge.

01:16:08Prince Albert

01:16:09was extraordinarily fastidious

01:16:11and squeamish

01:16:13about what he ate

01:16:14and was very easily

01:16:16upset by what he ate.

01:16:18She, on the other hand,

01:16:20always loved guzzle, guzzle, guzzle.

01:16:23She shoveled it in

01:16:24course after course.

01:16:26And also she had

01:16:28a very strong head.

01:16:29She drank like a fish.

01:16:30She wasn't alcoholic

01:16:30but she loved

01:16:31knocking back the booze.

01:16:33Whereas Albert,

01:16:34one glass would have

01:16:35been finished him off

01:16:36probably.

01:16:38This is the roast capon

01:16:39for the second course.

01:16:41Now Mr Ball's capons

01:16:42would have been

01:16:43castrated cockerels

01:16:44but that's illegal

01:16:45in modern Britain.

01:16:46You can only buy

01:16:47French ones.

01:16:48This therefore

01:16:48is just a chicken.

01:16:50The point of caponing,

01:16:51however,

01:16:52was that the birds

01:16:53became extraordinarily

01:16:54plump and luscious,

01:16:56quite superior

01:16:57to a normal bird.

01:16:59Here's the country life

01:17:01brought to the city table.

01:17:03Asparagus,

01:17:04standing to attention

01:17:05on a bread base,

01:17:06naturally served

01:17:07drenched in butter.

01:17:10Another capon dish,

01:17:12a key part

01:17:13of the second course.

01:17:14These have been

01:17:15galantined,

01:17:16so boned out.

01:17:17They've then been

01:17:17stuffed and then glazed

01:17:19with this

01:17:19chodefroir sauce

01:17:20which is a type

01:17:21of cream sauce

01:17:22set with

01:17:23the inevitable gelatin.

01:17:24Everything is all

01:17:25about aspic.

01:17:26They are then

01:17:27being beautifully

01:17:28decorated up.

01:17:29These really are

01:17:30like little

01:17:30jewellery boxes

01:17:31sitting on the table.

01:17:33The culotte de Boeuf

01:17:35features combs

01:17:36from the heads

01:17:37of cockerels

01:17:37on skewers

01:17:39interspersed

01:17:40with crayfish

01:17:41and mushrooms.

01:17:42This is the

01:17:43removed dish,

01:17:44so this is a

01:17:44really crucial

01:17:45part of it

01:17:46because you've

01:17:46got everything

01:17:47on the table

01:17:47and then something

01:17:48goes out,

01:17:49the turbot or the soup.

01:17:50And once this comes in

01:17:51all the other dishes

01:17:52are then uncovered.

01:17:53So this is quite

01:17:54a sort of key

01:17:55wow factor.

01:17:56It's a wow factor

01:17:56now, isn't it?

01:17:58When the waiting

01:17:59staff have delivered

01:18:00the meats to the table,

01:18:01the guests themselves

01:18:03have the pleasure

01:18:04of carving them.

01:18:05Victorian diners

01:18:06above stairs

01:18:07revelled in the

01:18:08artistry of the

01:18:09craftspeople down below.

01:18:11A host was judged

01:18:13on their ability

01:18:13to find a great cook

01:18:15and of course

01:18:15Victoria had the best.

01:18:17Her head chefs

01:18:18were stars

01:18:18and when they left

01:18:19the palace

01:18:20they had their pick

01:18:21of jobs at grand hotels

01:18:22and restaurants.

01:18:24So many dishes

01:18:25to get through

01:18:26but Victorian diners

01:18:28knew to pace

01:18:29themselves.

01:18:30One trick they had

01:18:31was to put mustard

01:18:32inside the ear.

01:18:33It's supposed to

01:18:34deaden the nerve

01:18:35that tells the brain

01:18:36when the stomach's full.

01:18:39Once she was queen

01:18:40Victoria was distressed

01:18:41to discover

01:18:42that she was putting

01:18:42on weight.

01:18:43She once asked

01:18:45Lord Melbourne

01:18:45about this.

01:18:46He said

01:18:46you should only eat

01:18:47when you're hungry.

01:18:48She said

01:18:49well then I'd always

01:18:50be eating.

01:18:54Victoria was notorious

01:18:56for being

01:18:57an extremely fast eater

01:18:59and of course

01:19:00the protocols

01:19:00were

01:19:01that the minute

01:19:02the queen finished

01:19:03her food

01:19:04and put her knife

01:19:05and fork down

01:19:05that was it.

01:19:06The servants

01:19:07came in

01:19:08whisked the plates away

01:19:09and there were

01:19:10always these complaints

01:19:11from members

01:19:12of the entourage

01:19:13that they never

01:19:14had a chance

01:19:14to finish

01:19:15what was on

01:19:16their plate

01:19:16because Victoria

01:19:17gobbled her food.

01:19:19Her Majesty

01:19:20might have been

01:19:20racing to get

01:19:21to the jellies

01:19:22and puddings.

01:19:23Like so many

01:19:24of her subjects

01:19:25Victoria has

01:19:26a sweet tooth.

01:19:28It sounds good.

01:19:30It's a bit of leakage.

01:19:32Oh look at that.

01:19:37Yes.

01:19:38Wahey.

01:19:38Excellent.

01:19:40The kitchens

01:19:41at the royal palaces

01:19:41were divided

01:19:42into divisions

01:19:43and one of the

01:19:44most important

01:19:45was the confectionary

01:19:46division

01:19:46which was in charge

01:19:47of sugar craft

01:19:48and that kind of thing

01:19:49but also jellies.

01:19:50If you were Victorian

01:19:52and you had money

01:19:53and you wanted

01:19:53to show it

01:19:54then you put

01:19:55moulded foods

01:19:55on your table.

01:19:56Not just jellies.

01:19:58If it could be moulded

01:19:59then you'd mould it.

01:20:00So this one

01:20:01is a moulded fruit puree

01:20:02this mould over here

01:20:04this is designed

01:20:05for cakes

01:20:05or you've got

01:20:06something like this

01:20:07which might well

01:20:07be used

01:20:08for a meat mousse.

01:20:10Put it this way

01:20:11it would not be

01:20:12a Victorian wedding feast

01:20:14if we didn't have

01:20:14moulded foods

01:20:15on the table.

01:20:16This confection

01:20:17of icing sugar

01:20:19jam

01:20:19and whipped cream

01:20:20is gâteau

01:20:22en freitage

01:20:23laced with liqueurs

01:20:25that ooze

01:20:26at the first touch

01:20:26of the spoon.

01:20:27That looks precarious.

01:20:28Hi Ernie, it is.

01:20:30I sort of had a vision

01:20:31of what this would look like

01:20:32based on reading the recipe

01:20:34but you never really know

01:20:35until you see it.

01:20:36I'm not sure I'd realise

01:20:37it was quite so

01:20:39dangerous.

01:20:41The puff pastry is so delicate.

01:20:43But it's very light.

01:20:44It looks like a sort of

01:20:44enormous cake

01:20:45but actually

01:20:46it's just very very light cream

01:20:47and a really quite light jam.

01:20:50This is actually almost

01:20:52a sort of

01:20:52a cloud as a mouthful

01:20:54rather than

01:20:55an enormous great cake.

01:20:56So much time and work

01:20:57that goes into it.

01:20:58There was a little bit

01:20:59of apprehension for sure

01:21:01but actually

01:21:02I quite like it.

01:21:03This is the ghetto

01:21:05that had made

01:21:05Annie quake.

01:21:07Will it collapse

01:21:08before it reaches the table?

01:21:09Now fully dressed

01:21:10and still upright

01:21:12it's ready to ascend

01:21:13to the dining room.

01:21:18Like all weddings

01:21:20the ceremony

01:21:21and this meal

01:21:21were family occasions.

01:21:23For some guests

01:21:24one of the last

01:21:25of such gatherings.

01:21:29Within four years

01:21:31Albert's father

01:21:32Ernst I

01:21:32would be gone.

01:21:36His son

01:21:37Ernst II

01:21:38would live to be 75

01:21:39busy, flandering

01:21:41active in the arts

01:21:42and in German politics

01:21:43and nearly becoming

01:21:44the king of Greece.

01:21:46The queen mother

01:21:47would live for another

01:21:4821 years.

01:21:49She and Victoria

01:21:50would never

01:21:51fully reconcile

01:21:52although after her death

01:21:54the queen would realise

01:21:55how much her mother

01:21:56had loved her

01:21:56and would be

01:21:57grief stricken.

01:21:58The Duchess of Sutherland

01:22:00would become a high profile

01:22:01campaigner against slavery

01:22:03and remained the queen's

01:22:05close friend.

01:22:06The person Victoria

01:22:07would cling to

01:22:08when Albert died.

01:22:10In 1842

01:22:11Baroness Leitzen

01:22:12would be dismissed

01:22:13by Prince Albert

01:22:14and go to live in Germany

01:22:16where she'd die in 1870

01:22:18surrounded by pictures

01:22:19of the queen she adored.

01:22:23The grand finale of the feast

01:22:25is this mammoth cake

01:22:27the mothership

01:22:28of a flotilla of cakes

01:22:29sent out to those

01:22:30who couldn't be in London

01:22:31for the big day.

01:22:37The cake is sensational.

01:22:40It's nine feet

01:22:41in circumference.

01:22:42It contains 300 pounds

01:22:44of fruit

01:22:45and 11 pints

01:22:47of French brandy.

01:22:49The top part

01:22:50shows Victoria

01:22:50and Albert themselves

01:22:51rather incongruously

01:22:53dressed in Grecian robes.

01:22:54There's so much sugar

01:22:55and brandy

01:22:56in the cake

01:22:57that it will last forever.

01:23:00The guests were given

01:23:01slices to take home

01:23:02in special little tins

01:23:03and sometimes

01:23:04they still come up

01:23:06for sale

01:23:06in auctions.

01:23:08So you could buy a bit

01:23:09and I guess

01:23:10you could still eat it.

01:23:21After the cake is cut

01:23:23Victoria and Albert

01:23:24rise and leave the table.

01:23:26They've somewhere else to be

01:23:28away from the madding crowd.

01:23:33She wrote

01:23:34I went upstairs

01:23:35and undressed

01:23:36and put on a white silk gown

01:23:37trimmed with swans down

01:23:39and a bonnet

01:23:40with orange flowers.

01:23:41At 20 minutes to four

01:23:42Lord Melbourne

01:23:43came to see me.

01:23:46Perhaps she then

01:23:48finally realised

01:23:49how tired

01:23:51and exhausted

01:23:52he had been

01:23:53the last three years

01:23:54looking after her

01:23:55and you know

01:23:57nurturing her

01:23:58and helping her

01:24:00learn the job

01:24:01of being Queen.

01:24:03Suddenly

01:24:03their long held roles

01:24:05are reversed.

01:24:07She's in charge now

01:24:08telling him

01:24:09to have an early night.

01:24:11and then Albert

01:24:13comes in

01:24:14looking wonderful

01:24:14and he's the one

01:24:16who carries her off

01:24:17leaving poor Melbourne.

01:24:20Melbourne was very

01:24:22diplomatic with Albert.

01:24:24He didn't entirely

01:24:25approve of his

01:24:27rather priggish

01:24:28personality

01:24:29as he described it

01:24:30but he understood

01:24:32that Albert

01:24:32was the right

01:24:33man

01:24:34to be Victoria's

01:24:36husband

01:24:37and to guide her.

01:24:39They were to be

01:24:40separated.

01:24:41It is

01:24:41I can see why

01:24:42he tries

01:24:42I try thinking

01:24:43about it myself.

01:24:44So I think

01:24:45it's the most

01:24:46moving little moment

01:24:47in the whole day

01:24:48really.

01:24:52It's four o'clock

01:24:53time to put

01:24:54the grime

01:24:55of the capital

01:24:55behind them.

01:25:00The rain stopped

01:25:01and the sun

01:25:02came out

01:25:03and then

01:25:04they were

01:25:04riding west

01:25:05out of town

01:25:06towards Windsor.

01:25:07They were

01:25:07deliciously

01:25:08alone.

01:25:09They were

01:25:10in limbo.

01:25:11They were

01:25:11free

01:25:12from all the

01:25:12formality

01:25:13and the

01:25:13pressure

01:25:13of Buckingham

01:25:14Palace

01:25:15and ahead

01:25:15of them

01:25:16lay

01:25:16the fairy

01:25:17tale

01:25:17castle

01:25:18of Windsor.

01:25:21The newlyweds

01:25:22spend the

01:25:23evening

01:25:23in her

01:25:24old rooms

01:25:25and have

01:25:25their supper

01:25:26delivered.

01:25:27He plays

01:25:27her sweet

01:25:28music

01:25:29and she

01:25:30swoons.

01:25:33Victoria

01:25:34wasn't feeling

01:25:34very well

01:25:35but nothing

01:25:36would stop

01:25:37her enjoying

01:25:38her wedding

01:25:39night.

01:25:41There is

01:25:42no element

01:25:43of prudery

01:25:44in her.

01:25:44She describes

01:25:45it frankly

01:25:45in her journals.

01:25:46She describes

01:25:47the first

01:25:48night

01:25:48they spend

01:25:48as man

01:25:49and wife.

01:25:50She adored

01:25:51him.

01:25:51As she

01:25:52wrote

01:25:52at twenty

01:25:53minutes past

01:25:54ten

01:25:54we both

01:25:55went to

01:25:55bed

01:25:56of course

01:25:56in one

01:25:56bed

01:25:57to lie

01:25:58by his

01:25:58side

01:25:58and in

01:25:59his arms

01:26:00and on

01:26:00his dear

01:26:01bosom

01:26:01and be

01:26:02called

01:26:02by names

01:26:03of tenderness

01:26:04I have

01:26:04never yet

01:26:05heard used

01:26:06to me

01:26:06before

01:26:06was bliss

01:26:07beyond belief.

01:26:09A baby

01:26:10Princess

01:26:11Vicky

01:26:11was very

01:26:12possibly

01:26:13conceived

01:26:13even that

01:26:14night.

01:26:14eight more

01:26:16would follow

01:26:16over the

01:26:17next sixteen

01:26:17years.

01:26:18The Queen

01:26:19began to

01:26:20long for

01:26:20the days

01:26:21when she

01:26:21and Albert

01:26:22could be

01:26:22alone.

01:26:23Not surprisingly

01:26:24being the Queen

01:26:26as well as

01:26:27Albert's wife

01:26:28as well as

01:26:29the mother

01:26:29of all these

01:26:30children

01:26:30began to

01:26:31take its

01:26:31toll

01:26:32on Victoria.

01:26:33She started

01:26:34to experience

01:26:35symptoms

01:26:35that today

01:26:36might lead

01:26:37to a diagnosis

01:26:38of postnatal

01:26:39depression.

01:26:39even so

01:26:41during this

01:26:42first decade

01:26:43of her

01:26:43marriage

01:26:44she proved

01:26:44herself to

01:26:45be dutiful

01:26:46and spirited

01:26:47and pretty

01:26:49tough.

01:26:50The Queen

01:26:51knew that

01:26:52her wedding

01:26:52day had

01:26:53established

01:26:53a brand

01:26:54Victoria

01:26:55and Albert

01:26:56a family

01:26:57business

01:26:58that people

01:26:58could trust.

01:26:59It had

01:26:59rescued

01:27:00the crown.

01:27:02Fourteen

01:27:02years later

01:27:03what's said

01:27:04to be a

01:27:04retrospective

01:27:05wedding photograph

01:27:06was snapped

01:27:07up by their

01:27:08devoted public.

01:27:12We remade

01:27:14that wedding

01:27:14to see how

01:27:15even the

01:27:16smallest detail

01:27:17was managed.

01:27:18The use

01:27:19of scale

01:27:19was masterful.

01:27:21The small

01:27:22queen

01:27:22in the huge

01:27:23dress

01:27:23was vulnerable

01:27:24and powerful.

01:27:27Albert Scarlet

01:27:28drew the eye

01:27:29and made

01:27:30the boy

01:27:30a man.

01:27:31We understood

01:27:32Victoria's

01:27:33placing of

01:27:34those she

01:27:34loved

01:27:35in her

01:27:35eyeline

01:27:35and those

01:27:36she distrusted

01:27:38out of it.

01:27:39and most

01:27:40of all

01:27:40we saw

01:27:41the story

01:27:41the public

01:27:42would be

01:27:43sold.

01:27:43The new

01:27:44style royals

01:27:45who believed

01:27:46in love

01:27:47a happy

01:27:48ever after

01:27:49for everyone.

01:27:50Splashed

01:27:51across every

01:27:52newspaper

01:27:52the wedding

01:27:53and the

01:27:53marriage

01:27:54were expertly

01:27:55crafted

01:27:55to stop

01:27:56Britain

01:27:57from becoming

01:27:57a republic

01:27:58and it

01:27:59worked.

01:27:59There is a

01:28:00kind of

01:28:00cooperation

01:28:01that happens

01:28:02between the

01:28:03press

01:28:03and the

01:28:04palace.

01:28:04Victoria and

01:28:05Albert are

01:28:05going to be

01:28:06a fresh start.

01:28:07They're going

01:28:08to be

01:28:08representatives

01:28:08of progress

01:28:09and that's

01:28:10something that

01:28:11most newspaper

01:28:12editors of this

01:28:13period are

01:28:14interested in.

01:28:15The idea that

01:28:16Britain is going

01:28:16to go on

01:28:17some kind of

01:28:18forward

01:28:18trajectory.

01:28:20The wedding

01:28:21of Victoria and

01:28:22Albert saw

01:28:22the birth

01:28:23of a legend.

01:28:24The legend

01:28:25of their

01:28:26powerful love

01:28:27that came to

01:28:28define her

01:28:29whole brain.

01:28:30The brand

01:28:31of Victoria and

01:28:32Albert was born

01:28:33at this ceremony.

01:28:34And on top

01:28:36of that,

01:28:36their new

01:28:37way of

01:28:38getting married

01:28:39affects the

01:28:40way that

01:28:41people still

01:28:42get married

01:28:42to this day.

01:28:44of the

01:29:14You

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