0:00:03 > 0:00:10'Just what do you have to do when a Queen decides to pop in to see you? Not just any old Queen. Victoria!
0:00:10 > 0:00:13'Like a pair of obsessed Victoria groupies,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17'we're pursuing her around the country to the posh pads she visited.
0:00:17 > 0:00:23'We'll be delving into her personal diaries to reveal what happened behind closed doors.'
0:00:24 > 0:00:29- 'Today, we're in Buckinghamshire.' - Welcome to Waddesdon Manor.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33We're going to be finding out what happened one afternoon in May
0:00:33 > 0:00:37when a rather elderly Queen came here for lunch.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41'And as someone who has spent a lifetime exploring country houses,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45'I'll be upstairs finding out just what turned Victoria on here.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:48She was apparently quite amused.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54'And as a chef who is passionate about great food, I'll be whipping up a Victorian souffle
0:00:54 > 0:00:59'that, thanks to an original menu, we know the Queen enjoyed during her stay.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:03- I'm afraid I do use a mixer. Sorry. - I've got my mixer here.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05'And testing Tim's taste buds.'
0:01:05 > 0:01:10I hope it doesn't have the effect of the tipsy cake you gave me the other day.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19At the time of this visit in 1890,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23an ageing Queen Victoria was approaching her 71st birthday.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26She had been on the throne for over half a century
0:01:26 > 0:01:32and was still in mourning for her beloved Albert more than 30 years after his death.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Most of our royal visits so far
0:01:34 > 0:01:39have involved Victoria staying for a number of days,
0:01:39 > 0:01:44but here at Waddesdon she stayed for just a matter of hours.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47This was a simple lunch engagement,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51but it was big news in 1890
0:01:51 > 0:01:56because by this time in her reign, Victoria was hardly seen in public.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Plus, it was a major coup for Waddesdon's owner
0:02:00 > 0:02:04and builder, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09He was one of those arch supremo, late 19th century networkers
0:02:09 > 0:02:14and he would have relished the opportunity of showing the place off to his sovereign.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19He spent a year planning her visit and even had the electricity installed.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24- Don't you think that's remarkable? - I certainly do. - I think it's remarkable.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29By this stage of her life, Victoria lived a life of seclusion,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33spending most of her time at Osborne House, Balmoral and Windsor.
0:02:35 > 0:02:42So for her host, French-born Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, this was a huge honour.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46It was also a great chance to rub shoulders with the Queen
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and show off his country pad, built in the style of a French chateau.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55The bulk of this building was only ten years old at the time of the Queen's visit,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59but there was an interesting report in the Telegraph newspaper
0:02:59 > 0:03:03which reported that the North Front here was in deplorable condition
0:03:03 > 0:03:06just a few days before the Queen arrived.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10I bet they worked incredibly hard to get that one right.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14They had to work hard because Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild had decided
0:03:14 > 0:03:18that he needed to add on a whole new west wing
0:03:18 > 0:03:22to increase the space for entertaining and the like.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26So Waddesdon was bang up to date for the Queen's arrival.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31I'm going to head downstairs to see how they coped in this fabulous house.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36And I'm going to stay very firmly upstairs to check out how the Queen got on with her host.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- Toodle-oo.- Bye.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Victoria made the day trip to Waddesdon from Windsor,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45travelling on the royal train to nearby Aylesbury.
0:03:45 > 0:03:52She was accompanied by her daughter Princess Beatrice and her husband Prince Henry of Battenberg.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise, was already there.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Her host Baron Ferdinand kept a detailed account of the entire visit.
0:04:00 > 0:04:07In it he recounts his relief that after days of heavy rain the clouds parted for the big day.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12He wrote, "The glass meantime," by which he meant his barometer,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16"had done its duty and a more perfect day for the visit
0:04:16 > 0:04:21"or one better suited to the Queen's peculiar taste could not be imagined.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24"A brilliant sun shone from a perfectly blue sky.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28"A crisp, cold wind tempered the atmosphere."
0:04:29 > 0:04:36And by that I assume that he's referring to Queen Victoria's dislike of intense temperature,
0:04:36 > 0:04:42so a bright, blue, crisp, cool day would have suited her perfectly.
0:04:44 > 0:04:50The whole town turned out to celebrate this rare public appearance from their Queen.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53This sketch from The Illustrated London News report
0:04:53 > 0:04:58shows Victoria receiving a bouquet in the market square from one of the crowd.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Having arrived here,
0:05:01 > 0:05:04she would have been greeted by Alice de Rothschild,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Ferdinand's younger sister
0:05:07 > 0:05:12and arguably the true matriarch of this house.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Anybody home?
0:05:20 > 0:05:27Where better place to start our exploration of the treasures at Waddesdon than in this room,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31the Baron's private study and drawing room?
0:05:32 > 0:05:39Now, of all the rooms at Waddesdon that most closely resembled things as they were
0:05:39 > 0:05:43when Victoria visited, this is the space that does it best.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48How do we know? Because the de Rothschilds kept photographs
0:05:48 > 0:05:52of their collections and the layouts of the rooms.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55There is Baron Ferdinand seated in this chair.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01At his feet is his favourite poodle called Poupon.
0:06:01 > 0:06:07The fold-screen behind the settee is exactly the same as it is in the photograph.
0:06:07 > 0:06:14And peeping up above the screen, three of the collection of pictures in this room.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21While Victoria was hobnobbing with her host at the north entrance,
0:06:21 > 0:06:28the staff she had brought with her entered at the east end of the manor leading to the servants' quarters.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31And this used to be the kitchen corridor.
0:06:31 > 0:06:38There were about 50 staff on duty for the royal visit, so it would have been a hive of activity here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43You can just imagine the hustle and bustle of the servants coming backwards and forwards
0:06:43 > 0:06:47because it was their main access to the smart part of the house
0:06:47 > 0:06:51which, for once, is exactly where I'm going.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57'Food historian Ivan Day is in one of the dining rooms laying a place setting,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01'just as Victoria would have found it for her lunch
0:07:01 > 0:07:06'and it shows how posh dining etiquette had changed dramatically during her lifetime.'
0:07:06 > 0:07:10When she was younger, she would have dined in a totally different way.
0:07:10 > 0:07:16All the dishes of the first course were on the table, an enormous array of different foods.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20They helped themselves or were they actually served by the butler?
0:07:20 > 0:07:27In the old "a la francaise", ancient style of dining, it was very, very sociable. You helped your neighbour.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32By the end of the century, a much more trimmed down style of dining had evolved.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Each dish was brought to the table in succession,
0:07:36 > 0:07:41so there was room on the table for wonderful centrepieces and floral ornaments.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46And this style became known as the Russian style of dining, "a la russe".
0:07:46 > 0:07:50But my favourite thing here is the napkin.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56- If I open it up for you, you can see the laundry identity mark. - How lovely!- Ferdinand de Rothschild.
0:07:56 > 0:08:02So that is actually one of the Baron's original table napkins from the 1890s.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06'Also on the table is a very precious piece of archive.'
0:08:07 > 0:08:12So this is the actual menu for the luncheon that Victoria enjoyed here
0:08:12 > 0:08:15- when she visited. - How wonderful is that!
0:08:15 > 0:08:19You've got your potage which is your first course, your soup.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21And poisson and entrees.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25One of the more robust dishes is a fillet of beef a la chartreuse.
0:08:25 > 0:08:30We know that Ferdinand commented on the fact that she had two helpings.
0:08:30 > 0:08:37He said that she really spent a lot of time eating and was worried that she might be overeating, actually.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42- The last course is a selection of vegetables and some sweet dishes.- Right.
0:08:42 > 0:08:49And we're going to make the very last one that was served - petits souffles a la royale.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52- They're little iced souffles. - How exciting! I can't wait.
0:08:52 > 0:08:58'This menu just goes to show how much effort her hosts went to for the Queen's lunch
0:08:58 > 0:09:03'which is why it's so remarkable that Victoria chose to eat in this room
0:09:03 > 0:09:09'with her two daughters and Prince Henry while the Rothschilds and 30 guests ate next door.'
0:09:10 > 0:09:17And so separated by a small lobby area where the Royal Artillery Band were playing,
0:09:17 > 0:09:24Victoria sat and enjoyed her lunch in this, the main dining room at Waddesdon.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28House rules today require me to take my shoes off
0:09:28 > 0:09:34before I toddle off on this divine Aubusson, 18th century carpet.
0:09:34 > 0:09:41The local rag at the time, The Bucks, records that the Queen's luncheon was served at 2.20
0:09:41 > 0:09:44by Mr Barker, the house steward.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49Security came in the form of two Highlanders, one footman and one of Victoria's Indian attendants
0:09:49 > 0:09:53because at this point in her reign she was also Empress of India.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56In the aftermath of the Queen's visit,
0:09:56 > 0:10:02polite society gossiped about the fact that the Queen dined alone
0:10:02 > 0:10:05with no member of the de Rothschild family,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08but with characteristic bravura,
0:10:08 > 0:10:13Ferdinand de Rothschild retorts and records,
0:10:13 > 0:10:18"That she lunched alone with members of her family instead of lunching with us
0:10:18 > 0:10:22"has been commented on in society, but without reason.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27"The proposal that she should do so emanated from me
0:10:27 > 0:10:34"as I was well aware not only of her disinclination to take her midday meal in the company of strangers,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38"but of the inevitable rule which she never breaks of so doing."
0:10:38 > 0:10:44We can see from that that the Queen, just shy of her 71st birthday,
0:10:44 > 0:10:49was a lady well set in her ways.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54'Baron Ferdinand may have been filthy rich,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58'but he believed in sharing that wealth with his neighbours.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04'Every year, he threw a garden party for staff, villagers, their families and even schoolchildren.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07'They were known as the Baron's Treats.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10'His generosity didn't stop there.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16'He gave the local village their first ever supply of purified water which he piped from his household.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21'And in 1897, seven years after the Queen's visit, he built the Waddesdon Village Hall.
0:11:21 > 0:11:27'Waddesdon's original kitchens are gone, so it's here that I'm catching up with Ivan
0:11:27 > 0:11:30'who has set up our own confectioner's kitchen.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35'We're making iced souffles, the actual dessert Victoria was served here at lunch.'
0:11:35 > 0:11:41We're going to make first of all an Italian meringue which we make by boiling up sugar in a sugar boiler.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44If you could start beating the eggs.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48'Unlike conventional meringue which is baked in the oven,
0:11:48 > 0:11:53'this method involves cooking our egg whites by adding boiling sugar.'
0:11:53 > 0:11:57I'll make the syrup by putting some sugar into this boiling water
0:11:57 > 0:12:01and I'm going to just get it to start to dissolve,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04but we mustn't stir that, as you know,
0:12:04 > 0:12:09because sugar crystals will start to form and it will ruin our meringue.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14Instead of stirring it, if you tap it, you can encourage the sugar to dissolve
0:12:14 > 0:12:19- without affecting the quality of the syrup later on. - I've never seen that before.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24'The secret to a good Italian meringue is the consistency
0:12:24 > 0:12:28'which means heating the sugar to the perfect temperature.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33'Too hot and it won't set properly. Too cold and it won't set at all.'
0:12:33 > 0:12:38Professional confectioners in the 19th century used to dip their fingers into some cold water.
0:12:38 > 0:12:44It horrifies everyone, this is so hot. They would plunge their fingers in and pull a piece of sugar out.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49I'm happy to do that, but it can be very dangerous unless you know what you're doing.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54A safer way is to get a little bit of the molten sugar on to a spoon.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57It's warm, but it's not hot enough to burn me.
0:12:57 > 0:13:03- Then if I just pull my fingers apart, I get the formation of a thread. Can you see?- Absolutely.
0:13:03 > 0:13:09- We call that "the long thread" which means that the temperature of that is absolutely perfect.- Yeah.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- We've really got to pour it in now. - OK.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17I always find this has got to be a two-person job to get a good one done.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22- I'm afraid I do use a mixer. I'm sorry.- I've got my mixer here. - I know.
0:13:22 > 0:13:27'While we whip up our Italian meringue, back at the manor,
0:13:27 > 0:13:31'Tim's finding out what Victoria got up to after her private lunch.'
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Ferdinand de Rothschild and his sister Alice were very wary
0:13:35 > 0:13:39of tiring out their distinguished, but elderly guest.
0:13:39 > 0:13:46Nevertheless, they were keen to make sure Victoria got a glimpse of the private rooms on the ground floor.
0:13:46 > 0:13:52This is called the Tower Room. This is the ultimate destination point for any favoured guest
0:13:52 > 0:13:57because in it the owner would display the very best of his collection.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01And this naturally is where Victoria was brought.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Now, Victoria's taste was for the glitzy.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08She liked French style furniture.
0:14:08 > 0:14:14She liked things covered in ormolu, this rich, gold metal.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19And she particularly was fond of furniture encrusted with porcelain.
0:14:19 > 0:14:25Queen Victoria so liked the French furniture that Ferdinand had here
0:14:25 > 0:14:31that she sent her Superintendent of Furniture from Windsor Castle down here to Waddesdon
0:14:31 > 0:14:34to look at the collection.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38It wasn't just the French furniture that Victoria took a fancy to.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43There was one mod con that really grabbed her attention.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45That revolved around a light switch.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Not these light switches. These are later ones.
0:14:49 > 0:14:56But she was so unused to electricity for lighting, she stood playing with the light switch
0:14:56 > 0:14:59turning it on and off
0:14:59 > 0:15:05and on and off, marvelling at all this new technology.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08She was, apparently, quite amused.
0:15:09 > 0:15:14'While Ferdinand was entertaining the Queen with his modern lighting,
0:15:14 > 0:15:20'in the kitchen they worked by hand without the aid of any electrical appliances.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26'So far, I've whipped up sugar and egg whites and our meringue mixture is ready for the next step.'
0:15:26 > 0:15:30- Look how beautifully it's set. - Gorgeous.- It reminds me of satin.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- Do you know what meringues were called at the time of James I?- No.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36Satin biscuit.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Oh, really? How interesting.
0:15:39 > 0:15:46'We start with a few spoonfuls of our meringue, to which we fold in finely-sieved raspberries
0:15:46 > 0:15:48'and some cream.'
0:15:48 > 0:15:54I do an exact recipe today like this. But I use a gelatine leaf to hold it.
0:15:54 > 0:16:00That was done in the 19th century, but it was considered to be a little too artificial,
0:16:00 > 0:16:06especially for Queen Victoria. So this one is much more challenging.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11The only thing holding it up is the air bubbles holding hands.
0:16:11 > 0:16:17- I must say, the confectioners were pure artists. - They were very skilful people.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22They didn't have the aids we have, digital thermometers, nothing like that,
0:16:22 > 0:16:26but they were able to produce food of most extraordinary quality.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30'The last ingredient is an iconic flavour of the 19th century -
0:16:30 > 0:16:37'maraschino, a cherry liqueur. We just add one teaspoon and our souffle mixture is ready.'
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Now why do ramekins have these funny little creases? Do you know why?
0:16:42 > 0:16:49- I've always thought it was decoration.- What it is is a residual memory of cases made out of paper.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55- Oh, right.- You had little pleats. It's a fossil memory of this. - How interesting!
0:16:55 > 0:17:01'We place the home-made ramekins into a chilled pan and start spooning in the liquid.'
0:17:01 > 0:17:07These dishes were made by servants who worked very long hours. They had plenty of time.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12They were at the beck and call of the chef and often lived in-house.
0:17:12 > 0:17:18- To replicate this sort of food, you really do need an enormous amount of patience.- Yes.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23You know what I'm doing now, it's rather like when I'm getting my hair done.
0:17:23 > 0:17:31- I can't wait to get out.- Right. - I'm going to stop. I've done it. And mine is better than yours!
0:17:31 > 0:17:33You made a mess and I did not.
0:17:35 > 0:17:41'Time to freeze the souffles. The Victorians filled a bucket with ice and sprinkled salt over it.
0:17:41 > 0:17:47'This brings the temperature down to a chilly minus 13 Celsius.'
0:17:47 > 0:17:52If we leave that for a couple of hours, our little souffle will be absolutely perfect.
0:17:57 > 0:18:03'In the heart of the house, after the Queen finished drooling over the French furnishings,
0:18:03 > 0:18:08'she headed up for a well-deserved rest in the state apartments,
0:18:08 > 0:18:14'but at such a pace for a 70-year-old that Baron Ferdinand recounted in his diary,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18'"In spite of the rheumatic affliction of her knee,
0:18:18 > 0:18:26'"Her Majesty ascended with comparative ease." And what awaited her was worth the effort.'
0:18:26 > 0:18:31This delicious little drawing room was set aside as part of the suite of rooms
0:18:31 > 0:18:35that Ferdinand gave to the Queen on the day of her visit.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38It's known as the Green Boudoir
0:18:38 > 0:18:43and it's a space that he would have been particularly proud of.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48And one rather quirky feature would definitely have caught her eye.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52By setting up two mirrors on either side of this small space,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and aligning them perfectly,
0:18:55 > 0:19:03instead of there being just one of me, if I wave in the mirror there are actually hundreds of me.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07And if I was a queen, I'd be able to practise my wave.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10"Hello! Hello."
0:19:10 > 0:19:15We can imagine it would be rather cosy in here,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Queen Victoria and her family all gathered about.
0:19:19 > 0:19:26And it's here that the Baron chose to make his presentation of his gift, a jewelled fan.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28And he records the moment.
0:19:28 > 0:19:35"Were I of a shy disposition, a more embarrassing situation could hardly have been provided.
0:19:35 > 0:19:42"The Queen was standing in the small Green Boudoir, flanked on either side by her two daughters,
0:19:42 > 0:19:48"who seemed rather curious to observe how I should acquit myself of my task.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52"I delivered a harangue worthy of an Elizabethan courtier
0:19:52 > 0:19:56"and having received the Queen's acceptance of the present,
0:19:56 > 0:20:00"I knelt on one knee and presented it to her."
0:20:09 > 0:20:15'Next up on this whirlwind tour, the Queen explored the wonderful Waddesdon grounds.
0:20:15 > 0:20:21'Who knows? Maybe Victoria used her new fan to cool her in the afternoon heat.'
0:20:21 > 0:20:28On the day before the lunch visit, one of Queen Victoria's New Forest ponies was sent
0:20:28 > 0:20:32especially to Waddesdon along with her pony carriage.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37As Baron Ferdinand noted, this was rather a comical contraption,
0:20:37 > 0:20:43a sort of cross between a real carriage and a horse-drawn bath chair.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47The advantage of it was it allowed the slightly lame Queen
0:20:47 > 0:20:53to get all round the gardens here, enabling her to look at all the marvels
0:20:53 > 0:20:59which included this parterre. Have you ever seen anything quite so beautiful?
0:21:01 > 0:21:07There are no less than 11,000 annuals and perennials planted out in these beds,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09not once a year, but twice,
0:21:09 > 0:21:14to maintain this constant stream of brilliant colour.
0:21:14 > 0:21:2011,000 plants! Have you got a window box? One of those hanging baskets with eight plants in it?
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Try 11,000 on for size.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29'It wasn't only the gardeners who had a tough job.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34'The housekeeping staff were under the control of Baron Ferdinand's sister, Alice.
0:21:34 > 0:21:40'She created a strict set of rules designed to preserve Waddesdon's valuable collections
0:21:40 > 0:21:44'as curator Rachel Boak explains.'
0:21:44 > 0:21:50- Tell me a bit about Alice's rules. - A lot were common sense and passed down through country houses.
0:21:50 > 0:21:57One of these is covering furniture. This is to protect it against light and handling.
0:21:57 > 0:22:03'She also insisted the blinds were kept drawn, even when they had guests.'
0:22:03 > 0:22:09Considering the importance of the people who came here, she was Draconian with them as well.
0:22:09 > 0:22:16When Edward VII paid a visit, she told him not to touch the furniture and she wouldn't raise the blinds.
0:22:16 > 0:22:22- What happened when Victoria came? - I'm sure that the rooms she was going to go into
0:22:22 > 0:22:26would have been lit appropriately and covers would have been off.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Everything would have been glittering.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34'Even Alice's brother Ferdinand suffered from her strict rules.
0:22:34 > 0:22:41'When he wanted to indulge his passion for cigars while Victoria was here, he had to nip outside.'
0:22:41 > 0:22:48I rather like the sound of Alice, but I would not like to get on the wrong side of her!
0:22:50 > 0:22:56'Alice was not only a stickler for the housekeeping. Outside, she ruled over 60 gardeners
0:22:56 > 0:23:03'to make sure not a blade of grass was out of place. We know Victoria was impressed by what she saw.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08'Current head gardener Paul Farnell explains how the wonderful creations on show today
0:23:08 > 0:23:13'stem from a radical type of gardening Alice helped pioneer.'
0:23:13 > 0:23:18It's what we call 3D bedding. It was discovered around that period.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23It's based on a photograph or a diascope, an image we found,
0:23:23 > 0:23:29- and we decided to recreate them. - This is something Alice was keen on?
0:23:29 > 0:23:35She'd wander round the garden with a trowel and nitpick. She was a perfectionist.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- This sort of thing appealed to her, the intricacy of it.- Yes.
0:23:39 > 0:23:45- And she'd want to show it to Victoria.- Indeed. It was the cutting edge at the time.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49'Alice's 3D bird sculptures were a clever tie-in
0:23:49 > 0:23:54'to one of the Baron's finest garden installations - the aviary.
0:23:54 > 0:24:01'But judging by Ferdinand's diary entry, the colourful display of birds were not fully appreciated.
0:24:01 > 0:24:07'"The Queen's attention was diverted from its gaily-feathered inhabitants by the conduct of her pony
0:24:07 > 0:24:14'"which shied at the sight of cockatoos and macaws, which screamed and flapped their wings.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20'"The poor birds meant no harm and were merely asking me for their usual piece of sugar."
0:24:20 > 0:24:26'As the afternoon drew to a close, Ferdinand left Her Majesty in the Oriental Tent on the tennis lawn,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30'where she took tea with her family and Alice.
0:24:30 > 0:24:36'Victoria's trip here may have been brief, but it marked the start of a friendship with Alice
0:24:36 > 0:24:38'that lasted the rest of her days.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44'It's perhaps no surprise that two such strong-minded women hit it off.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50'Victoria once called Alice "the all-powerful one".'
0:24:50 > 0:24:57A few years after her lunch here at Waddesdon, Victoria was visiting Alice in one of her properties
0:24:57 > 0:25:04in France. They were out walking together and Victoria, inadvertently, walked
0:25:04 > 0:25:06on a newly-planted bed.
0:25:06 > 0:25:12Alice, quick as you like, turned on her and said, "Get off there!"
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Can you imagine that?!
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Alice telling off Queen Victoria.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25'Time now to eat. Our souffles are set and ready to serve,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29'but not before a little final flourish - chopped pistachio nuts.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34'I wonder what Baron Wonnacott will make of these treats.'
0:25:34 > 0:25:39This is an actual dish that Queen Victoria had at her lunch here.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43- So if you'd like to taste it... - Well, I've spied over here
0:25:43 > 0:25:48a very small bottle of something which says it is Tokaji.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52- This is sweet wine?- It's a dessert wine and it comes from Hungary.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56They would have drunk this during the whole sweet course.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59They'd have some dessert wine out.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Either a Sauterne or some Tokaji or something like that.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- Would you like to taste it? - Yes, please. Here we go.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- That's incredibly fluffy, isn't it? - Mm.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16And just full of zingy flavour. Not too hard.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21So many of these iced things are over-iced, if you know what I mean.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24That's the Italian meringue. Very special.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27- I'll have a little snort of this. - Me, too.
0:26:27 > 0:26:34I hope it doesn't have the disastrous effect of the tipsy cake you gave me the other day!
0:26:34 > 0:26:39- I haven't quite recovered.- I think Victoria would have loved that.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44- She's known to have hoovered up her lunch.- She'd hoover this up.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Now we have been blessed by Ferdinand's meticulous records.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52I have found for you, Rosemary,
0:26:52 > 0:26:56a card there, look, that shows us Alice...
0:26:56 > 0:26:59What an amazing photograph of her.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- She looks like a woman who knows her own mind.- Yes.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07This is far more precious. This is an original.
0:27:07 > 0:27:13- It's an image of Ferdinand.- He did quite a lot for the local people.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17- He was quite a man, wasn't he? - He certainly was.
0:27:17 > 0:27:24And he did love his Royal connections. There's a passage in his diary that sums it up.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29"Around the Queen of England there hangs an undefinable prestige,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33"the result of a long and gracious reign.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36"A supreme queenly dignity.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41"Every word she utters bears witness to the fact
0:27:41 > 0:27:45"that she's a lady in the true sense of the word
0:27:45 > 0:27:49"and her every attitude is that of the first lady of the land."
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- He did like her.- He did. He was very fond of her, yes.
0:27:54 > 0:28:01And with that, Queen Victoria's visit to Waddesdon Manor was concluded.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08'Next time, on the last Royal Upstairs Downstairs,
0:28:08 > 0:28:13'we look back over Victoria's life and explore how she changed
0:28:13 > 0:28:17'from the young princess we first met, through her marriage to Albert
0:28:17 > 0:28:21'and, finally, her long period as a mourning widow.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26'It's an amazing story of our longest-reigning monarch.'
0:28:36 > 0:28:40Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd - 2011
0:28:41 > 0:28:43Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk