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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Memorial works

Following Albert’s premature death, Victoria commissioned the creation of photographs and decorative objects that memorialised her beloved husband

      HILLS & SAUNDERS (1852 TO DATE)

      Princess Alix of Hesse

      circa 1875

      Albumen print mounted on card | 10.5 x 6.3 cm (whole object) | RCIN 2418639

      Photograph of a near full length portrait of Princess Alix of Hesse, later Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) standing, facing halfway to the left. She turns her head slightly towards the camera. She holds a spade in her right hand and a bucket in her left. She wears a light coloured dress with lace decoration and a locket on a dark ribbon. 

      Photograph contained in an envelope marked 'Alicky, May 14 1875'.

      • Creator(s)

        Hills & Saunders (1852 to date) (photographic agency)

      • REGISTERED/ HILLS &SAUNDERS [break] ETON

        By appointment to Her Majesty/ HILLS & SAUNDERS PHOTOGRAPHERS/ ETON/ ALSO/ LONDON HARROW OXFORD CAMBRIDGE/ ALL COMMUNICATIONS RESPECTING THIS PHOTOGRAPH/ TO BE ADDRESS TO ETON

      • 10.5 x 6.3 cm (whole object)

      • A label on a brass tablet (RCIN 55344) suggests that the photograph was 'always placed on the Queen's writing table'.

      • Subject(s)
        • Science, Medicine and Technology
          • Engineering & Technology
            • Packaging
              • Buckets
          • Agriculture and related techniques
            • Agricultural implements
              • Spades
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