Queen Victoria's Birthday 24 May 1819, 201 Years ago

Today, 24 May, marks the 201st anniversary of Queen Victoria's birth in 1819 to Prince Edward, The Duke of Kent who was the 4th son of King George III and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg.

The above portrait is in The Royal Collection Trust, and depicts Alexandrina Victoria at age 2.

 

Victoria became queen in 1837 at the age of 18... 

The above portrait from a newspaper when she attended the theatre at Drury Lane 

Victoria by American artist Thomas Sully shows Victoria in the year following her accession 

At her wedding to Prince Albert in 1840

Upon the death of her beloved Albert in 1861, the queen began mourning that rather than ending in one year which was the normal custom was continued for the rest of her life until her death in 1901.

Memorial pair of dishes from 1861...

Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee of 50 years in 1887...

And her Diamond Jubilee of 60 years reign in 1897... 

and gave her name to an entire era of history, style, innovation, literature and morality... both for good and bad...

a lasting legacy...

The Coronation of George VI and Queen Elizabeth May 12, 1937

May 12th, 1937 is the date coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, parents of Queen Elizabeth II.

A 1937 Ladies Journal magazine feature with official coronation photo from 1937

 George's older brother, Edward VIII abdicated in 1937 in order to marry American divorcee' Wallis Simpson, and George became king, really unexpectedly.

 Princess Elizabeth, seen here at age 4 with her father, was not expected to be queen until the abdication made her the next in line for the throne...

 This coronation balcony photo is from the Daily Mail UK archives, showing the Princess Elizabeth at age 11...

 This is Queen Elizabeth's crown, seen above, which has a platinum frame and 2,800 Diamonds including the Koh-i-nur Diamond which had also been set into the coronation crowns for Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary.  Photo from Royal Collection Trust

This is an actual original programme for the coronation which includes a street map of the route as well as description of all the coronation participants so so you could follow along... and below is the official photograph of Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret from the program...darling photo...both photos from Time Was Antiques

 A day that changed their lives, and actually changed the history of the British people, right through to today.

And, of course, there were lots of souvenirs. This is an especially nice brass and enamel commemorative tea caddy spoon made for the coronation.

 God Bless the Queen!

VE Day 75th anniversary, My Husband's Memories

May 8th marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe in 1945

 

 

My husband, born in 1938, remembers it with nostalgia. At age 7 it meant lots of food, fun and knowing his brother and uncle, both in the Coldstream Guards, woud be coming home on leave soon.

 

 

In London, Trafalgar Square and The Mall were packed and everyone wildly celebrated...

 The royal family saluted the gathered crowds outside Buckingham Palace...

 I Warwickshire, as in all areas all over the country, strret parties were organized.

My husband remembers everyone carting out their tables into the street, families sharing food and supplies for making the meal... the best bakers doing so in one house, the vegetables in another, etc... everyone happy, singing and drinking home made wine and beer from the pub at the end of the road...

 The above photo from Getty shows the contrast now to then... with a "guy" or dummy for today with a sign "I have to stay at home" due to the coronavirus, and a guy in wartime clothes with an identification label and sign "I had to leave home" because many children were sent away during the war, evacuated for safety.

For my husband who had been too young and ill with asthma,so was kept at home, it meant his 2 older sisters would be coming home soon, who had been sent to Wales. They family lived too close to Coventry, which was severely bombed.

 Today though, there were street parties too... but with social distancing...

Residents of Cambrian Road in Chester dressed up in period costume take part in a socially distanced street party

Members of the services honouring the fallen at the Cenotaph including my husband's old regiment, the Coldstream Guards in the red tunic...

 And a flyover by The Res Arrows past the statue of Winston Churchill.

On my Facebook page, I am posting more photos, as well as links to the VE Day speech of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and other items of interest you may be interested in...

Time Was Antiques on Facebook

 

Happy Birthday Wedgwood! 261 Years Old

In 1759 on May 1st, Josiah Wedgwood opened his pottery and he began making his name something recognized around the world.

Wedgwood became synonymous with quality table ware and home decor... and is famous for transferware, majolica, jasperware and Queens Ware...the latter created by them.

This is a tray of sample colours for jasperware created in 1773 by Josiah Wedgwood as he perfected the material. This I took at the Wesgwood museum, called the World Of Wedgwood, in Barlaston just outside of Stoke-on-Trent where the pottery started...

 Here are scenes around the museum...

The Museum collection was almost dispersed in 2012 when undergoing financial difficulties, but saved by public and private donations in 2014.
Wedgwood, which had be joined into WWRD or Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton in 1989. 
in 2015 WWRD was acquired by Fiskars, Finland and is still owned and operated by them. The lines have shrunk, changed and in 2019 word came that the museum was again under threat.
With the virus situation, I have little hope it can survive as it was expected to be able to support itself with visitors.
Sigh...

We used to visit every year when we were in England for a month on a buying trip, and the World Of Wedgwood was always visitied for a day...either by ourselves or with relatives and friends. We loved watching the workers at work.

Queen Elizabeth visiting the pottery in 1953 after her coronation...

Above are some of the various items at Time Was Antiques from Wedgwood over the ages...

I am certainly hoping the Museum, and Wedgwood pottery itself long continues...