This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Landscape, Nature and Architecture

Technological improvements enabled Prince Albert to collect photographs of places that were significant to him

GEORGE WASHINGTON WILSON (1823-93)

Ben Nevis and the entrance to the Caledoninan Canal at Corpach, Loch Eil, Inverness-shire

c. 1880 after an 1860 original

Carbon print | 7.2 x 7.2 cm (image) | RCIN 2320026

Photograph of Ben Nevis as viewed across Loch Eil in Inverness-shire. On the left is a man holding a long fishing rod and in the background is a jetty on which is a tall wooden building.

Located in the Grampian mountains, Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the United Kingdom stands at 1345 metres high. This photograph is a later carbon copy which is a process that is less susceptible to light damage, unlike the original albumen photograph which was prone to fading over time.
  • Creator(s)

    George Washington Wilson (1823-93) (photographer)

  • 7.2 x 7.2 cm (image)

    17.2 x 13.0 cm (mount)

  • From an album of photographs collected and arranged by Albert, Prince Consort between 1860 and 1861

  • Subject(s)
    • Geography
      • Physiography
        • Mountains
    • Places
      • Europe
        • Mountains of Great Britain
          • Mountains of Scotland
            • Grampians [Scotland]
              • Ben Nevis [Scotland]
        • Great Britain
          • Scotland
            • The Highlands [Scotland]
              • Corpach [Highlands]
              • Inverness-shire
                • Lochaber [Inverness-shire]
                  • Loch Eil [Inverness-shire]
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs