The Absurd Mistake That Amused Victoria | Royal Upstairs Downstairs | Real Royalty

just how do you prepare when a queen decides she's going to pay you a visit and not any old queen victoria and as a chef who loves food i'll be stirring up things downstairs making a 19th century dish that would have been served to victoria we'll be delving into victoria's personal diaries to reveal what happened behind closed doors today we're not visiting a traditional stately home more a full-blown fortress warwick castle and as someone who spent a lifetime getting excited by antiques i'll be upstairs exploring just what would have excited victoria on her visit here wild and as a chef who loves food i'll be stirring things up downstairs making a 19th century dish that would have been served to victoria and trying it out on tim's 21st century taste buds you're just a genius [Music] victoria and albert popped into warwick castle during their four-day tour to warwickshire they'd been nearby in birmingham opening the stately aston hall as a tourist attraction but a trip to warwickshire wouldn't have been complete for the royals without a visit to one of england's best-loved castles [Applause] warwick castle was as much a tourist attraction in 1858 when victoria and albert visited as it is today the elves of warwick had been allowing the public into the castle for at least 30 years before the queen popped in and with the coming of the victorian railway more than 10 000 visitors a year were regularly pitching up here so it was the 16th of june 1858 when victoria and albert became tourists themselves in order to enjoy this medieval treasure trove [Music] the queen had been on the throne for 21 years when she visited warwick castle as a day tripper the earl of warwick and his wife hosts for the three-hour visit were originally meant to put them up here but they had the builders in so the royal couple stayed with the lee family at nearby stonely abbey this was such a brief visit but it was just enough time for her to have a good snoop and a little lunch but there was still masses of preparation going on downstairs which is where i'm off now and i'm off to take the royal tour around this grand old castle bye rosemary bye and with them on their lookabout was georgina lee who they'd been staying with at stoney abbey the night before she kept an exquisite journal of the queen's tour of warwickshire which includes details of the visit to warwick castle [Music] she records i was told at the last moment that i was to be one of the party to warwick and that her carriage had to take a shortcut to the castle in order to get her on time victoria meanwhile took the scenic route with well-wishers cheering her on as this picture from the illustrated london news report of the day shows victoria arrived through these port collises and into the courtyard or keep of warwick castle she records in her journal at two we reached warwick castle the position of which surrounded by trees and just overhanging the avon is beautiful the old entrance through the battlements cut out of the wall is very curious and there's a keep just in the style of the one at windsor most of the castle was built some 500 years before victoria's visit it was owned by the crown until 1604 when it was gifted to a chat called sir folk grevel and it was the grevilles who were eventually given the title earls of warwick and it was them who created a stately home inside the ancient walls transforming the fortress from a cold and uncomfortable place into a warm and luxurious stately family home [Music] with such a brief visit the earl of warwick was keen to impress with a fabulous lunch over 30 dishes were prepared for victoria and albert's feast one of the dishes on the menu was an absolute favorite of mine mayonnaise de homart a lobster and mayonnaise salad and that's what i'm going to make today [Music] i'm going to crack on just as the servants would have done downstairs ahead of the queen's arrival starting with the eggs they had to make their mayonnaise because the jars weren't available until 1905 and actually in my opinion i think homemade mayonnaise tastes better [Music] to an egg i'm adding dijon mustard next some olive oil we add the oil drop by drop by drop so it starts to get thicker [Music] lobster was quite delicacy in those days they had potted lobster curried lobster grilled lobster and lobster salad [Music] so it was pretty versatile oh it's really stiffening up now it really is i would have thought this was given to the under maids to do but imagine they would have done vast quantities of this that poor little under-made right that's finished so i'm now going to put it on ice perfect i'll be tackling the lobster a little later [Applause] having entered the courtyard the 39 year old victoria elited from her carriage with albert to meet the hosts for her brief visit victoria's diary tells us lord warwick met us at the door and lady warwick pretty graceful person but in delicate health having to be wheeled about in a chair received us at the top of the stairs in fact also waiting at the door according to newspaper reports were the couple's three children the eldest of whom was five at the time of the visit and it clearly had an effect because later when he became the fifth girl he records in his memoirs i know that i had to present a bouquet to the queen and that she kissed me and my brother alwyn doubtless alwyn and i duly honoured but my baby brother in arms louis whom her majesty tried to kiss resented the attention bitterly screamed struggled and finally i regret to say blue bubbles it is not recorded if her majesty was amused [Music] below stairs preparations for lunch would have been well underway and with the mayonnaise finished it's time to tackle the lobster [Music] here we have our lovely native lobster they're absolutely delicious now i'm going to take the claws off first these big claws then i'm going to remove the rest of the claws from there right so first of all we need to take the meat from the claws [Music] okay so it all comes out in one there we go now i'm going to do the other claw which is the bigger claw which is actually the claw that holds on to the prawn if they're eating bronze and the other one is the scissors this is actually a right-handed lobster lobster needs to be cooked alive and warwick is a long way from the sea so the creatures were shipped live from the coast in tanks making it an expensive and high status food much like today so you take the intestine from here which is the little bag and take the tail out that's the hard work done the next step will be to put it all together [Music] before lunch the royal party was shown into the great hall where objects from across the centuries were on display [Music] perhaps the most victorian of objects that victoria and albert would have seen here at warwick castle is this the kennel worth buffet or buffett depending on how you pronounce it it's carved from an oak tree felled at nearby kennel worth and the carving depicts an earlier chivalrous age a reminder of britain's medieval past to summarize this is an absolute turd force of the oak carver's skill to others it is a monstrous outsized sideboard either way victoria would certainly have admired it it was given to the fourth earl of warwick as a wedding present i wonder if he liked it he couldn't exactly take it back to the shop and exchange it could he one of the extraordinary features of this sideboard is these pillar supports which are carved in the form of a bear as in bare baiting chained to a tree which is an emblem of the town of warwick but what's strange about them is that they've been made so that they can revolve like that wild [Music] as the queen and albert her own knight in shining armor continued their whirlwind tour of the castle they must have relished the cool interiors on what was according to victoria's diary a very hot day victoria was dressed appropriately in a white muslin dress yes she really did once wear colors other than black when it came to creating a luncheon worthy of her majesty it wasn't just the food that had to stand out on the table decoration was just as important i'm off to the conservatory to meet jane edmonds a period floristry expert victorians they loved their flowers they had them all around them on their person they wore them and they wore them in their hair and on their clothes are they particularly light in the house um the plants with the new the variegated foliage and the more contrasts the better oh really quite gary yes it isn't to our taste now the same with the flowers in the vars the fern and then the limey green with the dark red that was a very popular colour scheme it doesn't seem to be subtle no it's not not subtle this picture from the illustrated london news report shows the queen seated for lunch at the castle if you look closely you can see a flower arrangement on the table known as an apan and we've got a copy here of that table center and we're going to make it we know the curtains and chairs and the dining room where victoria ate were in crimson velvet so we've chosen rich crimson roses that would have coordinated with the decor and in true victorian style we've added some yellow roses to give some real contrast they used wire and twigs perhaps matchsticks or twigs and then they supported them and to place them deep into into that construction here when victoria came here they definitely would have picked all the flowers here they couldn't have gone out and bought anything they wouldn't have bought them but they may have had gardens the queen victoria herself provided flowers for her homes from a big garden and they were sent overnight interestingly the head gardener would have been responsible for growing the best quality flowers and he would have also made the actual flower arrangements the aparn's height allowed the diners to enjoy the conversation with the person opposite without encroaching on the view it's very pretty isn't it flower ranging was very popular in victoria's day the middle classes were inspired by pictures of grand tables in country houses the prettiest flowers were placed in the eye line of the most honored guest in this case of course queen victoria there were many magazines at the time telling people how to make their flower arrangements oh right recommending not too many types of flowers and not too many flowers fantastic makes a bit of a change from cooking well jane i think we're nearly there yes and i think all i have to do now is place it on the queen's table yes indeed fantastic that looks wonderful the last minute invitation to warwick for the lee family who victoria had been staying with at nearby stanley abbey caused some chaos as lady georgina lee explains in her marvellous journal she says she arrived just in time for lunch and was hurried into the dining room with her companion lady gwendolyn in her diary she commented the queen was sitting on a kind of throne and was talking to lady warwick who being an invalid was in a bath chair but as georgina and gwendolyn circled the table looking for somewhere to sit it became apparent that shock horror not enough places had been set for lunch an unwelcome game of victorian musical chairs ensued as georgina explains lady gwendolyn and myself found only one place of course we were both preparing to back out when the queen who had an observant eye exclaimed poor girls they will neither of them get any luncheon this remark had the effect of sending lady gwendolyn who was nearest the door quickly out of it and i had to remain i wonder if poor old lady gwen ever got any grub [Music] after lunch victoria was back on the tourist trail first up the state rooms which she records in her journal we passed through several fine rooms with beautiful furniture and splendid van dykes the rich and sumptuous style of the rooms must have impressed victoria the illustrated london news described how she must have found many features of special interest and much for contemplation as well as observation a century and a half before victoria's visit another queen was due to put in a similar royal appearance in 1704 queen anne was due to visit warwick castle and her own bed was sent from windsor along with her travel chest ahead of her arrival but she never turned up queen anne's visit was cancelled but the bed and the chest remained here until 1773 when king george iii made them a permanent gift to the earl of warwick it is indeed a very fine bed as are all the tapestries which contain this room look at the detail and quite how bright these colors are that's because it said that the weavers employed a man to drink as much beer as he possibly could in order that he would produce as much urine as possible because the weavers used the urine to stop the colors in the dyes from running nice work if you can get it i'm not so sure about that tim i wonder if that was part of the tourist information for the royal guests we do know that outside in the courtyard the warwickshire yeomanry band was playing to entertain victoria and albert and today the current band of the royal yeomanry is here to recreate the atmosphere somewhere under that beautiful plumage is their director of music major roy valshar [Music] tell me about the origins of the yeoman movement it wasn't just about music major was it it was about the militia as well yes indeed the militia would protect the land for the wealthy owners of the land and of course the uh the landowners were the officers generally and the farmers and the farm workers were in fact the yeoman so it was a bit of a mix of upstairs downstairs everybody most of the landowners at one time or other would have had a small band maybe local musicians uh and other militias as well and of course these eventually were formed into the regimental bands of the yeomanry what's the music that they've played in victorian times and what sort of music do you play now well the pieces we play today um firstly the regimental march of the royal yeomanry and the regimental match of all yeomany regiments in england is the farmer's boy and queen victoria would most certainly have known [Music] today's human reband is also made up of part-time musicians but now from the territorial army i must tell you i love your hat i think your hat is absolutely wonderful it's a chapter a chapter no one really knows why the band ended up wearing this hat that was originally polish military attack [Music] maybe they just fancied wearing it [Applause] while the band played on the royal couple continued their tour and headed for the boudoir crimes as the warwickshire standard describes the boudoir was a perfect picture and fitted up with blue and white satin but it wasn't quite perfect unfortunately for the poor warwicks some dodgy seating provided a true moment of farce a relative of the earl had a contra tour with a chair in front of the queen as the fifth earl's memoirs revealed my mother's kins woman old lady mex bro was with us and the queen who knew she was even older than she looked said to her very kindly please sit down lady mexpr thereupon sat down on one of the new and incomplete chairs and her partial disappearance was very swift and dramatic queen victoria's strict sense of decorum was not quite proof against this incident clearly victoria had a complete fit of the giggles and lady georgina continues in her diary her majesty expressed a wish to go out of doors and we all followed and explored the gardens in all directions no doubt giggling hilariously wherever they went georgina records that as they passed through the gardens the queen noticed the illustrated london news artists in the shrubbery making sketches and she asked to see their work the victorian paparazzi had been caught out by the queen herself fortunately for them she approved could have been tricky though [Music] back downstairs i'm assembling my lovely lobster salad that victoria and albert were served when they visited so i'm going to just take some little gems many letters for artists that we use the victorian times are no longer popular one in particular was called the tennis ball lettuce so i'm using a little gem instead so now i'm going to put my lovely pieces of chopped lobster tail so i'm going to bung in there i'm going to dress it with the mayonnaise not too much a large rounded tablespoon and i'm going to just mix it all up now what will happen is the lettuce will wilt a tiny bit it's bound to we're going to place it in the bowl now i'm going to do this with my hands because it's going to be much easier to control so don't worry about it my hands are very clean indeed so i'm going to pop it in there you've got to make it into a dome so i'm going to bring it squeeze it together the next stage is to mask the salad masking is a victorian term meaning cover i have to mask the entire thing the reason for masking is so that garnishes can stick to the dish just like glue [Music] the victorians were mad about their garnishes and to garnish i'm using hard-boiled eggs anchovy beetroot durkin green olives and just garnish with a little fresh dill over the top just to make it really pretty and i'm going to use these little intents just from the lobsters just to give it that lobster feel rather dramatic and hopefully wow look about it i think tim is going to love this and it's what victoria ate as well [Music] albert somewhat tiring of the official tour went off on his own when victoria asked where he was she was told he'd headed to guy's tower and who can blame him [Music] up here on the battlements he must have got a real sense of this fantastic castle [Music] typical bloke what is it that from early childhood about castle ramparts that particularly excites the mail of the species i don't know where's my arrows [Music] in every sense during these royal visits victoria and albert were taking first-hand history lessons it was through such visits that victoria came to piece together a continuous story of the country she ruled but stately home tourism was a popular pastime and not just confined to royalty such was the popularity with the common people that the housekeeper here at warwick won maria hume earned the amazing sum of 30 000 pounds in today's money in tips from the public for simply showing them around the castle no wonder she's smiling let's hope i can make tim smile by showing him just what i've been up to we're in the very dining room the queen ate in feasting on dishes including the lobster salad and the tables adorned with a fabulous flower arrangement that would also have greeted her majesty this is mayonnaise de humat which is just lobster with mayonnaise gosh a very simple dish but absolutely delicious this was one of the many dishes that she would have had for her lunch on her very brief visit but this is what gives me goosebumps you see because we're in the dining room and having the dish that she actually had for her lunch and it was prepared by your fair hand and i tell you what it gave me great pleasure to do something from start to finish so what are these red squishy things these are the antennae for the lobster yeah now i'm going to just pop this on your plate let me just put it there to make it easier because it's quite tricky to serve some what my mother used to call moist certainly is right okay well you'll have a lovely job demolishing that well i have said i certainly have actually that was quite difficult to serve so do try it thank you very much so let's go for it oh gosh that is delicious darling you have done well here that is lovely isn't it it's no wonder you are who you are you're just a genius it's an incredibly simple dish to prepare because after all they had to have simple dishes amongst all these complicated dishes but lobster was a great delicacy it's absolutely delicious absolutely [Music] before the royal couple left the queen just about had time to do the obligatory tree planting in the grounds of the castle as this illustration from the illustrated london news shows before hurrying off to catch the train back to london at warwick railway station they bid farewell to lord and lady warwick and the lee family with whom they had been staying at nearby stoney abbey she thanked them for an enjoyable visit lady georgina lee wrote in her diary so ends my account and i trust all true-hearted warwickshire folk will respond to the sentiment that their county has become dearer to them now its soil has been trodden its beauty is visited its scenery admired by the beloved sovereign victoria the great the good the model woman join us next time on royal upstairs downstairs when victoria and albert exchange authentic medieval for a newly built castle penryn in north wales complete with all mod cons a flashing [Music] loop [Music] you

Channel: Real Royalty

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Id: CzpfH8H4ZyI

Length: 28min 51sec (1731 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 09 2020