Queens In Waiting: Charlotte & Victoria

This display focuses on the depiction of the young princesses, Charlotte and Victoria, who both became 'heir to the throne' in the early nineteenth century.

Featuring a range of portraits in wax, watercolour, and print, as well as commemorative images, it includes an engraving of Princess Charlotte’s last portrait from life by Sir Thomas Lawrence, completed posthumously. By bringing together these images, the display traces the idealised nature of the imagery used to represent a young woman in direct line to the throne at a time when the nation tired of the debauched Prince Regent’s rule.