0:00:02 > 0:00:06Just what do you have to do when a Queen decides she is going to pop in to see you?
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Not just any old Queen - Victoria.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Like a pair of obsessed Victoria groupies, we're
0:00:12 > 0:00:17pursuing her around the country to the posh pads she visited.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22We'll be delving into her personal diaries to reveal what happened behind closed doors.
0:00:22 > 0:00:28In our journey today, we've come to wonderful Walmer Castle in Kent.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33And like Albert and Victoria, we're taking the sea air. Come on.
0:00:33 > 0:00:39And as someone who has spent a lifetime getting excited by antiques, I will be exploring upstairs, looking
0:00:39 > 0:00:43for the things that would have impressed Victoria on her visit here.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Well, it looks grand enough, doesn't it?
0:00:45 > 0:00:49As a chef who is passionate about all sorts of food, I'll be getting
0:00:49 > 0:00:57a flavour of work below stairs, and creating a super 19th Century recipe that was served to Victoria.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Oh, the smell!
0:00:59 > 0:01:03And testing it out on Tim's 21st Century taste buds.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Today's story is about a royal retreat that started like a holiday from hell.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Victoria and hubby of two years,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Albert, stayed here for almost a month.
0:01:18 > 0:01:19They hoped to find some
0:01:19 > 0:01:22peace and quiet away from the spotlight of public duty.
0:01:22 > 0:01:28Victoria and Albert came here in the November of 1842.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31They brought the two kids with them, the Prince of Wales who was one, and
0:01:31 > 0:01:35the Princess Royal Victoria, who was aged about two.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38But do you know, Rosemary,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41they had first intended to have their winter break in Brighton?
0:01:41 > 0:01:44But a sudden outbreak of scarlet fever meant that they changed their
0:01:44 > 0:01:48minds, and the royal party came here despite the fact
0:01:48 > 0:01:52that they said it was too small for their needs.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Good lord, it looks big enough to me.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58- So let's go and find out. - Big enough for the two of us, eh?
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Big enough for the two of us, definitely.
0:02:00 > 0:02:08According to the London Illustrated News, the tabloid paper of its day, the Royals were attended by a small
0:02:08 > 0:02:13entourage of Ladies In Waiting and Equerries, including Lady Lyttelton, who wrote an account of the visit.
0:02:13 > 0:02:19Lady Lyttelton was an avid letter writer, and she records that
0:02:19 > 0:02:25the 103-mile journey down from London took some nine hours, with hordes of
0:02:25 > 0:02:31well-wishers all delaying proceedings because they wanted to get a glimpse of the children.
0:02:31 > 0:02:36So that meant that the Royal party didn't arrive here until 5pm.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39We both know how stressful travelling can be.
0:02:39 > 0:02:46Listen, I'm going downstairs to find out how the servants coped. Bye!
0:02:46 > 0:02:51Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII as a fortress against invasion.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56It became the official residence of a specially appointed guardian known as
0:02:56 > 0:03:03the Warden Of The Cinque Ports, who at the time was military hero, the Duke of Wellington.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08But the arrival of Victoria, Albert and their two children and their entourage,
0:03:08 > 0:03:16meant even a man of hero status was unceremoniously booted out, as this cartoon at the time shows.
0:03:17 > 0:03:23Here he is with his housekeeper leaving for the nearby Ship Hotel.
0:03:23 > 0:03:30But even Wellington couldn't have foreseen the right royal mishap that began their visit.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35Because as the Royal carriage drew into this gateway, it got stuck!
0:03:35 > 0:03:40Nobody could get in and nobody could get out.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42CLIP CLOP
0:03:46 > 0:03:47NEIGHING
0:03:47 > 0:03:54The Duke writes, "Her postilions drove her very badly into the gate of the tower.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59"She stuck in it and was obliged to get out of the carriage.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02"I believe that the children were carried over the bridge."
0:04:02 > 0:04:08And the Duke wrote later, "The place was a scene of most utter confusion,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10"with trunks, baggage in every room,
0:04:10 > 0:04:15"and Abigail's maids and nurses of all ages and descriptions running about."
0:04:21 > 0:04:28For such a big hoo-ha, you would have thought Her Maj would have commented on it, but not a word.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32All the Queen records about her arrival is a description of the castle.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37She writes, "It's a curious old castle, but very comfortable.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40"By the time we got there it was quite dark."
0:04:40 > 0:04:44And there could be a good reason for this omission.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47After Victoria's death, her daughter, Princess Beatrice, copied out the
0:04:47 > 0:04:51diaries and burnt the originals, in accordance with her mother's wishes.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56It has been long been thought she edited out anything contentious.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02After all, they wouldn't want to embarrass the Iron Duke, the national hero.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13Well, Walmer Castle certainly has to be the smallest castle that
0:05:13 > 0:05:20Victoria visits with us, and frankly, from here it doesn't look much like one, does it?
0:05:20 > 0:05:26This is the ground floor of the castle, which originally housed military staff and servants.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31When you get to come over here, in this dark, dank, cranny of the
0:05:31 > 0:05:36room, you can understand the scale of this fortification.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Originally there would have been an arrow slit in here to take a canon,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44because out there is Johnny foreigner trying to steal our country.
0:05:44 > 0:05:51And it's not until about 1708, when the Wardens Of The Cinque Ports
0:05:51 > 0:05:55start to live in Walmer Castle,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59that it becomes smarter and better as a habitable space.
0:05:59 > 0:06:06For Victoria and Albert, their upstairs quarters were rather less functional.
0:06:06 > 0:06:12The Duke had the builders in before Victoria's visit, but she was not amused by her bedroom.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Well, it looks grand enough, doesn't it?
0:06:17 > 0:06:23But in her diary she reveals it wasn't exactly five star. Oh dear.
0:06:23 > 0:06:30She writes, "The bedroom was very small and dreadfully cold and draughty."
0:06:30 > 0:06:35Lady Lyttelton, in her journal, says, "It seems needless to go out for air.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40"Doors and windows all chatter and sing at once and hardly keep out
0:06:40 > 0:06:46"the dark storm of wind and rain which is howling round."
0:06:46 > 0:06:50So she is awake in bed and all this lot is rattling.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53WHISTLING AND RATTLING
0:06:58 > 0:07:05Protected from the cold winds by thick walls, the kitchen gardens at Walmer had their own micro climate,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09so they could grow their fresh produce for 365 days of the year.
0:07:09 > 0:07:16The kitchens at the castle no longer exist as they did when the Royal Family were here, so I am out
0:07:16 > 0:07:22in the fresh air today helping to prepare a classic Victorian dish.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Food historian Ivan Day is accompanying us
0:07:25 > 0:07:27on our journey with Victoria.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32Together we are creating the dishes that would have been eaten by the monarch.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37And today, we're making one dish
0:07:37 > 0:07:40that was always on the menu - soup.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44And in particular, consomme.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50Well, we're going to start by making the basis of all soups and sauces,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and that's some stock.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55And we are actually doing it in this wonderful Victorian stock pot.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57- It's marvellous. - Beautiful, isn't it?- Yes.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02First of all, we have got some roughly chopped vegetables here.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06They have to be large, because if you had little particles of
0:08:06 > 0:08:09vegetables they would block the tap up.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11- Ah!- The wonderful thing about this
0:08:11 > 0:08:15is when you make stock you always get a bit of fat floating on top.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20Because it has a tap at the bottom, we tap it off at the bottom, no fat.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21- Yes.- But we can block the tap up
0:08:21 > 0:08:23with little bits of carrot and onion,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26so it's best to chop them very, very roughly.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28That's what they do - sort of mirepoix roughly chopped.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Yes, it's what is called a mirepoix.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Let's get this lid off, which is very, very hot, being copper.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37And if I hold the board,
0:08:37 > 0:08:43Rosemary, could you actually get the vegetables into it?
0:08:43 > 0:08:44No problem.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50This procedure hasn't really changed over the centuries.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53This is exactly what I do already.
0:08:53 > 0:08:54Yeah. But they were doing it
0:08:54 > 0:08:57500 years ago, and they are the people who taught us to do it.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01They invented it all, so we have got to give them some credit
0:09:01 > 0:09:03really, these cooks from the past.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Absolutely. Next into the pot goes a whole partridge
0:09:07 > 0:09:13and some cheap beef cuts, known in Victorian times as soup cuts.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Finally, we're going to put what you might call a...
0:09:17 > 0:09:20..bouquet garni.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23- Right, let's get the lid on.- Mm-hm.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27It's a lovely...
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Really tight fit, yes.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34The stock will need several hours to simmer and reduce.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Back in the castle, the Queen would have been getting on with daily life
0:09:38 > 0:09:44in this quirky little retreat, that her Lady In Waiting, Lady Lyttelton, describes in her diary as,
0:09:44 > 0:09:49"A big round tower, immense thick walls and a heap of conical rooms of odd shape."
0:09:49 > 0:09:53The Queen makes the same comment in her diary.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57"Most of the rooms are oddly shaped, forming part of a circle."
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Such rooms didn't bother Wellington.
0:09:59 > 0:10:05Perhaps they endeared him to the quirky castle and appealed to his humorous nature.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09And here is the man himself, the Iron Duke.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14The Duke of Wellington, the man that Queen Victoria described
0:10:14 > 0:10:18as the greatest person that we have ever produced.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22He also had a great sense of humour.
0:10:22 > 0:10:30Here at Walmer there was a gardener servant called Jones, who was very often mistaken for the Duke.
0:10:30 > 0:10:38When the Duke was told this, he said, "That's a strange thing, because I'm never mistaken for Jones."
0:10:40 > 0:10:46This is the corridor that divides the castle and creates those odd shaped rooms.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51Rooms that frequently changed their function to fit the occasion.
0:10:51 > 0:10:57But it wasn't the rooms that made the impression on the Royal party - it was the outside that mattered.
0:10:57 > 0:11:04So whilst the drawing room might once have been used as a sitting room or for the odd reception,
0:11:04 > 0:11:11even as a chapel, the primary route is to get out on to this terrace
0:11:11 > 0:11:14to enjoy the divine view and the sea.
0:11:14 > 0:11:20It was from this terrace that the Queen and Prince Albert would have watched the 21-gun salute
0:11:20 > 0:11:27discharged from the battleship, the Thunderer, in her honour, the morning after she arrived.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Although several such tributes were organised during her stay at Walmer,
0:11:30 > 0:11:37it was her express wish that her holiday was as retiring as possible. How sweet.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44And she spent a lot of time simply walking by the sea with her beloved Albert.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51This picture from the Illustrated London News
0:11:51 > 0:11:54actually shows them strolling along the coast.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57And if your eyesight is better than mine,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00you can just about spot them holding hands.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05Victoria wrote in her diary, "At half past nine, we sallied forth
0:12:05 > 0:12:11"and walked at least a mile along the beach, where there is not a house.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14"So different to Brighton.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17"This is so private."
0:12:18 > 0:12:21One morning, the Royal lovebirds slipped out of
0:12:21 > 0:12:25the castle with their favourite dogs and set off for Kingsdown.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29A sudden squall forced them to seek shelter with a fisherman.
0:12:29 > 0:12:35His hospitality was later recognised by the Queen, who rewarded him with a pension no less!
0:12:35 > 0:12:42According to the Illustrated London News, on her return, she was the very picture of blooming health.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Perhaps it wasn't just the sea air that gave her that glow.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51Aye-aye! I've done me maths, and I can reveal she was in fact about 12
0:12:51 > 0:12:57weeks' pregnant with her third child, while she was here at Walmer.
0:12:57 > 0:13:04No wonder they needed the hearty meal that was, according to the records, awaiting them that evening.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09And without a doubt, it would have started with a consomme just like we're making.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14And back in the garden our stock for this iconic dish is almost ready.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Oh, the smell!
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Oh, the waft as you took that lid off is wonderful.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26The beef - beautiful, beautiful, really intensive stock.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29We'll now need to clarify the stock to remove any residue.
0:13:29 > 0:13:36- I'm going to put into the stock a handful of minced beef.- Yes.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39I'm going to drop that in and sprinkle it in.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41If you can mix it in, Rosemary, with the wooden spoon.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42I will do.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48Now that's not all. I've got here some egg white as well,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50which I've just sort of mixed up.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51- it's not really whipped up.- No.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55- Frequently they would put the eggshells in as well.- Yes.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58So I'm going to put the egg white in.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02If you could just give that a good old whisk up.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06It may look pretty ghastly, but it really does the trick.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12The next stage is to strain the clarified stock.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15And in Victorian times, it was passed through
0:14:15 > 0:14:17what was known as a jelly bag.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19This is a jelly stand.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- It looks like an umbrella stand, but this is the perfect thing for hanging your jelly bag in.- Yes.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28It's a fake one, but it's made exactly as a Victorian one.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32So it was one of the most useful things in a Victorian kitchen.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33If you very gently pour that...
0:14:33 > 0:14:38- I promise you, I will be very gentle.- If it doesn't come through clear, we will put it through again.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Now this is the moment of glory.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50'Soup was a very important dish to all classes.
0:14:50 > 0:14:57'For the poor, it was a whole meal, but for the rich, at posh banquets, who had to stuff down seven or eight
0:14:57 > 0:15:02'courses, consomme would whet the appetite rather than satisfy it.'
0:15:02 > 0:15:05It's coming through beautifully, look at that.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Oh, look at that!
0:15:09 > 0:15:12That is the most brilliant colour.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Well, that's essence of beef really.
0:15:14 > 0:15:21- It's essence of beef.- If you think there's probably about seven pounds of beef and one partridge
0:15:21 > 0:15:25that has gone into what is a kind of alchemical distillation.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27I'm going to leave that straining for about
0:15:27 > 0:15:31another half an hour, because I do not want to waste a drop.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Well, I will see you later.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34OK.
0:15:37 > 0:15:43During this almost month-long stay, not much could be said for the appalling British weather.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46But Victoria and Albert endured.
0:15:46 > 0:15:52It was November, after all, although nothing seemed to deter the Royals from taking the sea air.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57In Victoria's diary, she writes, "In spite of the pelting rain
0:15:57 > 0:16:02"and high wind, Albert went out, returning quite drenched."
0:16:02 > 0:16:06And this, along with the draughty and poorly-heated castle,
0:16:06 > 0:16:11meant that by the second week of the visit, illness descended.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Not only Victoria, but both the children got colds.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17And, of course, in the Victorian period, you only
0:16:17 > 0:16:21had to get a cold in the afternoon and you could be dead the next day.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Atch-oo!
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Victoria complains in her diary of her suffering.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32And she was clearly worried about the children, saying that they looked "wretchedly ill".
0:16:32 > 0:16:38Wellington's own physician, one Dr Hulke, was called to attend the family.
0:16:38 > 0:16:43Although his prescriptions for Victoria are indecipherable - typical doctor -
0:16:43 > 0:16:51Walmer still has his amazing journal, that reveals a day-by-day account of treatment for the Royal tots.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54And Dr Paul Grasby, a pharmacist with knowledge of the
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Victorian era, is here to explain just what the good doctor ordered.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02On the 14th, a Monday, it says, "The Princess Royal
0:17:02 > 0:17:09"seemed slightly oppressed, gave her...
0:17:09 > 0:17:10"..in a powder."
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Can you decipher what those drugs are?
0:17:13 > 0:17:18I can actually only make out one drug, which is magnesium carbonate.
0:17:18 > 0:17:24I think, on this occasion, the doctor actually was using some fairly simple powders.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30And I think this equates to something like liver salts, or something like that.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Most of the drugs they had weren't curative, they were palliative.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38So they addressed the symptoms, and of course, a big worry Victorians had was infectious disease.
0:17:38 > 0:17:44You see, by the time we get to the Wednesday, he's saying, "The Princess Royal passed a good night.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46"She ate her breakfast." That's all very nice.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51"But the Prince had his diet slightly altered.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55"Arrowroot - the bowels being a little relaxed."
0:17:55 > 0:17:58So this is the one-year-old, all right.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Something has happened in the old jippy tummy department overnight.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06- Would you prescribe arrowroot for that, jippy tummy?- I'd prescribe arrowroot for anything.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10- Oh, good!- Arrowroot is not going to hurt anyone.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13It's mainly composed of starch.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16You powder it up. You can make it into a paste.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20And it's useful for all sorts of things because it coats the throat,
0:18:20 > 0:18:25which can be good for coughs, and mimics some of the cough mixtures we have today.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28At the same time, the child actually gets a lot of carbohydrate,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32so if they are off their food, they are taking in some carbohydrate.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Taking in a lot of starch.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38If you are a bit loose down the bowel area, it can sort that out, as well.
0:18:38 > 0:18:45That's a classic example of something that's quite benign, but you package it up and do lovely
0:18:45 > 0:18:49folded paper around it, and you would put the powder on it,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51and you would big it up, I guess, you would say in today's terms.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55Dr Hulke must have been honoured to be treating the Royals.
0:18:55 > 0:19:02But you're just not going to believe this - Hulke's wife went into labour when he was expected at the castle.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05This letter to Lady Lyttelton asks permission to be late.
0:19:05 > 0:19:11Permission was granted by Victoria, but with the proviso he named the baby after her.
0:19:11 > 0:19:17A son was duly born, and just to prove I'm not making this lot up, look what we have here.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21We've tracked down a copy of the original birth certificate,
0:19:21 > 0:19:26which shows that Dr Hulke did indeed name the baby boy Victor.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38Having made the stock, and clarified it, it's time for us to actually make the consomme.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Typical of Victorian dishes, the process is everything.
0:19:42 > 0:19:50- This ingredient here is sherry so we really need to get this pan really, really hot.- OK.- That's it.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52It will start boiling away.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Let's get all that alcohol off there.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Right.
0:19:56 > 0:20:02Here is the wonderful consomme stock which is very concentrated because it's a reduction.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07- I reduced it very slowly so it's very concentrated.- Yes.
0:20:07 > 0:20:13Now that the sherry has got rid of all of its alcohol, I'll put this in here.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15- Look at that. - It's like honey, isn't it?
0:20:15 > 0:20:17It's beautifully clear.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Would you like to taste it just to tell me what you think?
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Obviously the sherry will reduce it a little bit.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Come on, you don't have to ask twice, you know that with me!
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Tell me that that's like.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Do you know, it's absolutely perfect.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33It's golden.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Essence of beef.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39Now, it's incredibly strong so we could dilute it a little bit.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43May I suggest, probably from my experience, put about a third in?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Yes. This is a dilute stock.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49This one hasn't been reduced. Can you see it's a different colour?
0:20:49 > 0:20:52- Yes, I can.- Let's try that and tell me what you think.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54This is how they got it absolutely perfect.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58- Absolutely spot on.- Yes.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00Don't do anything else to it.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02- Excellent. - That's seasoned beautifully.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05It looks perfectly... It's clear.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Now you taste it and tell me what you think.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Yeah, you're right absolutely right. That's absolutely perfect.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15And that's the consomme almost complete.
0:21:15 > 0:21:21There is one other stage, but before we do that, I've heard Tim's been talking to Dr Paul Grasby
0:21:21 > 0:21:27about health above stairs, and before he dashes off, I'm going to ask him about the servants.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32So would the servants in the Victorian times have access to medicines?
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Victorian servants were actually very healthy.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Their life expectancy tended to be much longer than the general population.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44There are examples of people living and working into their 60s and 70s, and in addition some of them were
0:21:44 > 0:21:50reasonably well paid even by today's standards, earning £40,000 a year in today's money.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53So undoubtedly, yes, they would have had access,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57depending on their status, obviously, and where they were living.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01So it wasn't necessarily the wealthier you were and the healthier you were.
0:22:01 > 0:22:08I mean, the difference in health between the rich and the poor in Victorian times was undoubtedly
0:22:08 > 0:22:11not due to the medicines they were taking.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15It was due to their environment and their diet and their education,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19and the fact that they could get away from the industrial pollution.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21It was all the things which even today make you healthy.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25If I was a lord of the manor or a stately homeowner,
0:22:25 > 0:22:30I would want to make damn sure I didn't come into contact with people that might give me an infection.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I would want my staff to be as healthy as possible.
0:22:33 > 0:22:40In fact, in my own family, my own great-great grandfather lost five children in one week due
0:22:40 > 0:22:44to scarlet fever, so I think that was the thing that terrified people -
0:22:44 > 0:22:46these infections that they couldn't control.
0:22:46 > 0:22:53And of course, the servants living in an area like the castle we're in today, obviously the chance
0:22:53 > 0:22:59of getting an infection were a lot less than living in the cities and cheek-by-jowl with everyone else.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03So what I'm getting here is, being in service is a good thing.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08Even so, Rosemary dear, being Royal was infinitely better, as Queen Victoria's
0:23:08 > 0:23:13young daughter, Princess Victoria, discovered on her second birthday.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Despite their sniffles the Royal kids were in for a treat.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19The people of nearby Deal were determined
0:23:19 > 0:23:24to arrange an unforgettable day of celebration for the little Princess.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27On the occasion of the Princess Royal's birthday
0:23:27 > 0:23:32on the 21st November, 1842, there were considerable celebrations
0:23:32 > 0:23:36on dry land and also out on the briny.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Moored just off shore was Her Majesty's ship,
0:23:42 > 0:23:48HMS Thunderer, one of the Navy's most famous vessels of that period,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and she was bedecked with flags.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56At the same time there was a regatta from the Deal and Walmer boatmen,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01who apparently broke into a spontaneous celebration,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05not only for the Princess Royal, but also for their monarch.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11And to round things off at the end of the evening, they had fireworks
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and Thunderer fired her 36lb cannon.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Boom, boom...
0:24:17 > 0:24:24Lady Lyttelton, Victoria's lady-in-waiting in her diary cooed, "Princessy was most funny all day,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28"joining in the cheers and desiring to be lifted up to look at the people
0:24:28 > 0:24:30"to whom she bowed very actively."
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Back in the garden, Ivan has vegetables on his mind, but no ordinary veg.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43No Royal consomme was complete without decoration,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47and we're ornamenting the dish with some floating vegetables.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50We start off... This is a wonderful old variety of beetroot.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54It was extensively grown in England until the First World War,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57particularly in kitchen gardens of great houses.
0:24:57 > 0:25:03And its name was Harlequin, and the reason for that is evident when you cut it open because...
0:25:03 > 0:25:05It's beautiful, isn't it?
0:25:05 > 0:25:10It's got this wonderful variegated red, white, red, white centre.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Victorians loved this sort of thing because it makes a wonderful,
0:25:15 > 0:25:20beautiful little decorative garnish which you can put into the soup.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25What they did was, they would get a couple of servant maids to spend a
0:25:25 > 0:25:32whole afternoon cutting very thin slices, razor-thin.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35And then a variety of cutting tools were used.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37All with the same end in mind...
0:25:37 > 0:25:39The best thing is to rotate it like that.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43..to make the dish extremely pretty.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55I think you may as well just pop this into the consomme.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57OK, I've finished that.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01Don't they look pretty?
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Really beautiful, isn't it?
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Just pop these in. They just need blanching basically, and then that's it.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Wonderful.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13It's like a salad in a soup.
0:26:13 > 0:26:18- I really can't wait for Tim to see it.- And to taste it.- Ah.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26I'm serving the soup in the garden below the ramparts, which, despite the winter winds,
0:26:26 > 0:26:31was protected enough to provide additional kitchen gardens and orchards in the 19th century.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36Today it's more ornamental, like our Royal dish of the day.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Well, this is a rare sighting in the garden if ever I saw one.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44And also a very rare treat.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Now, I've got here...
0:26:47 > 0:26:52It's a lovely beef consomme with a beautiful garnish of vegetables,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- absolutely delicious.- Now, would this take a long time to make?
0:26:55 > 0:26:58This is quite a complicated dish.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01There's lots of different stages to it and they would have this at the beginning with a sort of
0:27:01 > 0:27:05thick soup and then a thin soup, and it's incredibly healthy for you.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08If I got a bad cold, I could have this, couldn't I?
0:27:08 > 0:27:10This would be very healthy and very good for you.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12So let's have a taste and see what you think.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14It's got a lot of colour to it, hasn't it?
0:27:14 > 0:27:17It's beautiful and it's a picture.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26The flavour there, the freshness, it is a really great consomme.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29I mean, this is something that I would do today.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31It's jolly good, isn't it?
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I'll never be able to taste that tinned consomme ever again.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37You know that, you're thoroughly spoiling me, Rosemary!
0:27:37 > 0:27:42Despite having a dreadful cold while she was here and being pregnant
0:27:42 > 0:27:48to boot, Victoria clearly loved being away from queenly duties.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53But like the rest of us, at the end of our hols, reality beckoned
0:27:53 > 0:27:56and it was with a sigh that she writes on 3rd December,
0:27:56 > 0:28:00"Felt quite sorry this was our last night here.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05"The bedroom was very small and dreadfully cold and draughty,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10"but still I formed an affection for it all, and for the whole house.
0:28:10 > 0:28:16"In spite of being unwell and cold, I regret leaving the seaside."
0:28:16 > 0:28:19We're also sad to be leaving the seaside,
0:28:19 > 0:28:27but join us tomorrow at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, where Victoria encounters some wayward servants.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Oi, what are you doing down there?!
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:54 > 0:28:57E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk