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.

Visit the Royal Collection

Record of historical events

Victoria and Albert collected photographs that documented the political and military events that defined a period of global expansion

CHARLES THURSTON THOMPSON (1816-68)

Boulogne

c. 1857

Albumen print | 18.2 x 27.5 cm (image) | RCIN 2500811

Photograph showing the cobbled lane running along one side of the camp with numerous thatched huts on the right and a line of thatched sentry boxes on the left. An officer and a sentry are standing to the right of the sentry box in the foreground. A few other buildings are visible near the edge of the cliffs in middle ground and background.

  • Creator(s)

    Charles Thurston Thompson (1816-68) (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    Army-France-Infantry

  • 18.2 x 27.5 cm (image)

  • Boulogne. [Boulogne and Aldershot, c. late 1850s].

  • Acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

  • Subject(s)
    • Places
      • Europe
        • France
          • Boulogne-sur-Mer [Pas-de-Calais]
    Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs
PreviousNext
PreviousNext
Policy links
Royal Collection TrustIn Partnership with

Royal Collection Trust is a charity caring for the Royal Collection and welcoming visitors to the royal palaces. We bring our shared history to life through world-class experiences that involve and inspire people, wherever they are. Income from tickets and retail sales helps us to conserve the Collection so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come.