Historic Photographs

Historic Photographs in the e-Gallery online

The 350,000 photographic images in the Royal Collection, collected by six monarchs and their families, consist of people, places and animals from 1842 to the present day.  They include portraits of sovereigns, their consorts and descendants, the nobility, statesmen and celebrities along with images of royal residences, tours, ceremonies, and even the inhabitants of London Zoo in 1852.

During the late 1960s, public interest in early photography prompted the gathering together of photographs previously located in the different royal residences to form the nucleus of the Royal Photograph Collection.  The collection is still growing and includes daguerreotypes, unbound prints, negatives, albums and newsprints.  The majority of the historic photographs are kept in the Round Tower at Windsor. The Round Tower also houses the Royal Archives where documentary evidence to support many of the photographs in the collection is kept.

History

In laying the foundations of the collection during the 1840s, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert began what is now the largest holding of historic photographs in royal ownership.   Prince Albert was an avid supporter of science and the arts.  The new medium of photography brought these two interests together and was eagerly supported by him.  It is perhaps fitting that the earliest photographs within the Royal Collection are of the Prince, taken by William Constable in 1842.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert commissioned a number of photographers.  These included Roger Fenton who photographed the royal family, Windsor Castle and the Crimean War, and J.J.E. Mayall, whose work was published in a Royal Album in 1860.  The work of other photographers, such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Oscar Rejlander, Francis Bedford and Gustave Le Gray, was also collected by them.  

While Prince Albert’s principal interests lay with science and the arts, Queen Victoria’s taste was for portraits of people from all walks of life.   Many albums offer a fascinating portrait of society during Queen Victoria’s reign, from British and European royalty  to the  gardeners, cooks and  seamstresses who worked for the Queen.  There are also 44 photographic albums of Royal Children taken between 1848 and 1899, and a quantity of images relating to the army, and to contemporary military conflicts.

Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII, was the most celebrated royal photographer of her time. Her photographic albums are unique personal diaries, providing a fascinating insight into the lives of the royal families of Europe from the 1880s to the First World War. With her camera she recorded her friends and family, and the places she visited on her extensive travels, including tours to the Mediterranean and Scandinavia. 

The collection also contains 40 albums of the photographic work of Queen Alexandra’s second daughter, Princess Victoria.  Similarly, there are 33 photographic albums recording Queen Mary’s family life, travels and official visits, assembled and captioned by her between 1880 and 1952.  Albums presented to King George V recorded a brave new world of modern exploration as well as the horror of the First World War. 

Among the 20th-century photographers whose work is well represented in the collection are Herbert Ponting, Cecil Beaton, Lord Snowdon and Lord Lichfield.

Information and Access

Photographs are occasionally included in exhibitions and displays at the royal residences. These may be seen on the Royal Collection’s e-Gallery. Publications relating to these exhibitions are available through the Royal Collection’s online shop. Photographs are also loaned to exhibitions organised by other institutions.

Copy photographs for research and publication purposes may be supplied, subject to copyright clearance.  For photographs of members of the present Royal Family, please contact the photographic news agencies listed on the British Monarchy website.

Although the Royal Photograph Collection is not open to the public, applications may be made to work on specific items. Visiting researchers are subject to security clearance. Enquiries may be sent by post or e-mail to:

The Curator
Royal Photograph Collection
The Round Tower
Windsor Castle
Berkshire SL4 1NJ
Fax  +44 (0)1753 831834
E-mail rpc@royalcollection.org.uk

Publications

R. Allison and S. Riddell eds., The Royal Encyclopaedia, London, 1991

F. Dimond, Presenting an Image (exh. cat.), London, 1995

F. Dimond,  ‘Some Royal Family Albums’ in Happy and Glorious, UK, 1977

F. Dimond and R. Taylor, Crown & Camera (exh. cat., The Queen’s Gallery), London, 1987

F. Dimond, Developing the Picture; Queen Alexandra and the Art of Photography, London, 2004

H. and A. Gernsheim,  Queen Victoria; a Biography in Word and Picture, London, 1959

S. Gordon, Noble Hounds and Dear Companions, 2007

D. Hempleman-Adams, S. Gordon and E. Stuart, The Heart of the Great AloneScott, Shackleton and Antarctic Photography, 2009