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.

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Landscape, Nature and Architecture

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

Views Albums

      Prince Albert (1819-61) compiled a four volume series of ‘Views’ albums which reflected his travels and important historical landmarks in England, Scotland and Ireland. Volume 2 for example, includes a photograph of the interior of the Exhibition Palace for the 1853 Great Industrial Exhibition, held in Dublin. A prolific photographer featured throughout Albert’s ‘Views’ albums is George Washington Wilson (1823-93), who regularly photographed Balmoral Castle, Holyrood Palace and their surroundings. Wilson’s pastoral scenes invoke Scotland’s rich histories and its landscape’s beauty. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and Prince Albert especially enjoyed Wilson’s photographs, which were also very popular with a growing commercial tourist market for photography.

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