WHAT’S IN QUEEN VICTORIA’S COFFIN (apart from her of course)? The death of Queen Victoria occurred on 22 January 1901 at Osborne House. She was 81 years old and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore within Windsor Great Park. Before her coffin was sealed however a large number of items were placed in it with her according to her last wishes, as expressed in a document written in 1897. Some of them were romantic, some were tragic and some of them were downright scandalous. In this royal history documentary from History Calling I take you though what Queen Victoria was buried with, using her own handwritten instructions, plus an eye witness account from Sir James Reid, Victoria’s doctor and one of the people who saw the Queen in her coffin and was responsible for placing many of the items she had requested in there with her. You’ll hear about the references to her long-dead and much missed husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the heartbreaking item she wanted interred with her which referenced her daughter, Princess Alice and the items which hinted that she had engaged in a love affair in her later years and perhaps even a secret marriage to John Browne. I’ll also tell you who put Queen Victoria in her coffin and it’s probably not who you might think.
As well as giving you the list of items in Queen Victoria’s coffin, I’ll be discussing her reasons for wanting these items with her, what it says about her religious beliefs and the performative aspect of coffin goods, especially when one is royal.
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