The Durbar Room
An Indian-style banqueting hall of carved plasterwork with a peacock over the fireplace, and a corridor of portraits of the queen's Indian subjects and Abdul Karim.
Queen Victoria could have died in any of her palaces; she chose this one, a seaside villa on the Isle of Wight that was never a palace of state, but a house the couple bought with their own money as a family retreat from court. Prince Albert designed it himself with the builder Thomas Cubitt between 1845 and 1851 in the manner of an Italian villa with two campanile towers, because the Solent below reminded him of the Bay of Naples. Nine children grew up here, and on 22 January 1901 the queen died upstairs; her bedroom has been kept much as she left it. The room Arab visitors linger in is the Durbar Room, a banqueting hall added in 1890-91 to designs by the Punjabi architect Bhai Ram Singh under John Lockwood Kipling, its plasterwork carved in Indo-Islamic style and a peacock spreading its tail over the fireplace. The corridor outside hangs with portraits of the queen's Indian subjects and of Abdul Karim, the attendant who taught her Urdu. The state rooms downstairs are as gilded as you expect; the private apartments on the first floor, still full of family photographs and everyday furniture, are the better half. Allow four to six hours for the whole estate: house, walled garden, then the Swiss Cottage about a quarter of an hour's walk away where the royal children learned to cook and garden (the cottage is itself a life-size playhouse, with a small museum of the children's collections beside it), and finally the private beach with Victoria's bathing machine. A free minibus, with priority for anyone who finds the walk hard, links the entrance, cottage and beach from April to November and pauses between 1pm and 2pm. Pushchairs are not allowed inside the house and are parked at its entrance; the lift to the first floor is usually working; the beach is reached by steps and is no place for a buggy. From Portsmouth: the Wightlink car ferry to Fishbourne takes about 45 minutes, then it is a 15-minute drive to free parking; or take the 10-minute hovercraft from Southsea to Ryde and then bus 4 or a taxi to East Cowes. Count on an hour and a half each way with waiting, so this is a full day out. Summer is the right season. From late October to mid-March only the ground floor opens, the Swiss Cottage shuts, and the house often opens just a few days a week until 4pm, so it is not worth the crossing then. Booking online by midnight the day before is up to 15% cheaper than paying at the gate.
An Indian-style banqueting hall of carved plasterwork with a peacock over the fireplace, and a corridor of portraits of the queen's Indian subjects and Abdul Karim.
Family rooms upstairs left with their photographs and everyday furniture, including the bedroom where Victoria died in 1901.
A quarter-hour walk from the house: the cottage where the royal children learned to cook and garden, then the private beach and bathing machine; a free minibus runs April to November.
York Avenue, East Cowes, Isle of Wight PO32 6JX
In summer, yes: the Swiss Cottage with its little museum, the beach and the free minibus between them make it a full family day, provided you park the pushchair at the house entrance. From November to mid-March the answer is no; only the ground floor opens, the cottage is shut, the minibus stops after November, and ninety minutes of travel each way is not repaid by half a visit.
Not strictly, tickets are sold at the gate, but booking online by midnight the day before saves up to 15% and, in the summer holidays, secures your entry time and skips the queue. Prices change with the date: school and bank holidays are the dearest, and the booking calendar shows which days are cheaper.