0:00:01 > 0:00:04Just how do you prepare for the arrival of a queen,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06and not just any old queen, Victoria?
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Like a couple of Victoria groupies,
0:00:10 > 0:00:15we are pursuing her around the country to the magnificent mansion she visited.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21We'll be delving into her personal diaries
0:00:21 > 0:00:24to reveal what happened behind closed doors.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Today we're visiting Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Victoria came here with Albert in 1843.
0:00:31 > 0:00:36She was 24 years of age and had been on the throne for six years.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40As someone who has spent a lifetime exploring country houses,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44I'll be upstairs discovering some mod cons
0:00:44 > 0:00:46that might have excited Victoria.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50I love it, don't you? Look, gas off or sunlight.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54And as a chef who loves great food,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57I'll be recreating an amazing Victorian pudding.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Lift it up very, very gently.
0:01:00 > 0:01:01Fantastic!
0:01:01 > 0:01:05- What will my own prince make of it? - Looks positively naughty.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Here at Wimpole Hall, we're only ten miles from Cambridge
0:01:12 > 0:01:16with its hallowed walls, academic life and famous university,
0:01:16 > 0:01:22which is where Victoria and Albert had been visiting in October 1843
0:01:22 > 0:01:24before coming on to Wimpole.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30Albert had just received an honorary degree from Trinity College, Cambridge.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35This greatly pleased Victoria as a sign that Albert was starting to be accepted by her subjects.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39But in her diary she records that she wasn't pleased by the crowds,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42who fought to get a glimpse of the celebrity couple.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44DISTANT CHEERING
0:01:44 > 0:01:49Poor exhausted Victoria said that the crowds in Cambridge were awful.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53They were looking forward to a relaxing time at Wimpole.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Peace and quiet, though, were very hard to come by.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Because here at Wimpole Hall,
0:01:58 > 0:02:03they were in for a rollicking time of dancing, eating and even a visit to the farm.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08I'm going to find out how the poor servants coped with the royal onslaught.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12I'm going to find out how the royal guests fared upstairs.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19This rather lovely red brick pile dates back to the mid-17th Century,
0:02:19 > 0:02:24a couple hundred years before Victoria and Albert's visit.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29The hosts to the royal party were the fourth Earl and Countess of Hardwicke.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34He was a vice-admiral in the navy and had been nicknamed Old Blow Hard.
0:02:34 > 0:02:40We don't know how he and Victoria got to know each other, but we do know that she held him in high regard.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46Victoria was obviously fond of her host here at Wimpole.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Indeed the year before the visit she wrote,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53"Lord Hardwicke, the Queen, that's me, likes very much.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56"He seems so straightforward."
0:02:56 > 0:03:00He was clearly a man that she felt that she could trust.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03And he did like everything absolutely shipshape.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07For example, over there is the charming,
0:03:07 > 0:03:12meandering, snaky old drive approaching the house
0:03:12 > 0:03:16which shows off its elongated frontage to best advantage.
0:03:16 > 0:03:22The trouble was Victoria and Albert were coming here from Cambridge, over there.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30And so that they didn't have to spend that extra mile on the turnpike
0:03:30 > 0:03:34he had another driveway charge straight through his park
0:03:34 > 0:03:37so they could get here easier,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39which has now been grassed over.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43And after the visit, he named it Victoria Drive.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47Well, having splashed the cash I guess you can't really blame him
0:03:47 > 0:03:51for advertising the fact that the Queen had come to call.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55The host, Old Blow Hard's shipshape approach
0:03:55 > 0:03:59even extended downstairs where the Queen wouldn't see.
0:04:00 > 0:04:07At the heart of every great house is the housekeeper's sitting room where she would guard over her stores.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13This is one of the best preserved stores I have ever seen!
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Look at the spices, the teas!
0:04:17 > 0:04:19All this was incredibly valuable.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21She must have kept it under lock and key.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Being in this room, you get a real feeling of just how important the housekeeper was.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Sitting in this chair,
0:04:32 > 0:04:39she could see who was coming and going.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44But the key thing is the toffs don't know they're being watched.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52Despite the Hall's rigid upstairs, downstairs etiquette,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55this wonderful book shows just how closely the Earl
0:04:55 > 0:04:59and his senior servant, the house steward Francis Hart, worked together.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03In it, they recorded every detail of life at Wimpole,
0:05:03 > 0:05:05including Victoria's visit.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12By the time the Queen finally arrived here, at about 5pm,
0:05:12 > 0:05:17the house steward records, "It was so dark on her entering the park
0:05:17 > 0:05:22"that lamps placed at intervals and at the steps were lit."
0:05:22 > 0:05:26So our man the Earl wanted to make quite sure
0:05:26 > 0:05:30the house was looking at its best. Fine, but I wonder whether Victoria
0:05:30 > 0:05:35actually noticed because her journal makes no mention of it.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39She merely writes, using the old-fashioned use of the term,
0:05:39 > 0:05:44"I felt knocked up and somewhat tired." Hmm.
0:05:44 > 0:05:50To make sure those upstairs enjoyed their visit, downstairs had to be well organised.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54And at Wimpole, this is the corridor of power.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58This is the women's end of the servants quarters.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03The housekeeper was in charge, the kitchen is back there, the maids are through here.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08In here is the servants' dining room where the men and women came together to eat.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13And this is the butler's domain
0:06:13 > 0:06:17where butlering today is our food historian Ivan Day.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- KNOCK ON DOOR - Come in!
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Hello, Ivan. Am I allowed in here? This is the men's quarters.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Just this once.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29So what was this room used for?
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Well, this is the butler's pantry
0:06:31 > 0:06:36which was really the control centre for all the male servants in the household,
0:06:36 > 0:06:42because the butler was their boss and he gave them their orders at the beginning of each day.
0:06:42 > 0:06:49So this would be a hive of activity, especially with the occasion like a royal visit because he looked after
0:06:49 > 0:06:54the major investments of the owner of the house which was all the valuable wine in the wine cellar,
0:06:54 > 0:06:59but also all of the plates and the porcelain, that was his responsibility.
0:06:59 > 0:07:05The servants rooms down here are very much men at one end, women at the other.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07- The bedrooms where the maids sleep...- Yes.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10..which are very tiny and very basic,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12are as far away as possible
0:07:12 > 0:07:16from the bedrooms where all of the grooms and the footmen...
0:07:16 > 0:07:19That end, that end. Fantastic!
0:07:19 > 0:07:22And to get to them, you would have to get past the housekeeper
0:07:22 > 0:07:26or the steward or the butler, and they would reprimand you if you went anywhere near them.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- So they couldn't get up to any naughty business, then? - Well, there was that, yes.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35One of the big problems often you've got in a big house like this was pilfering.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38And the wine here, for instance, is not only guarded by the butler,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42- but to get to it you'd have to go through the steward's room.- Mmm.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46The steward is the major servant who runs the whole estate and the butler
0:07:46 > 0:07:53and the housekeeper, although they are senior servants, they have to answer to him. He was a real boss.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58But the housekeeper was in charge of the female line of servants and the butler looked after all of the men
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and so you had these two lines of orders.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Yes. So they were equal in status -
0:08:04 > 0:08:07she's the top of the women and he's the top of the men.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- But not equal in pay.- No.- But both with equal responsibilities.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11Absolutely.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16One of the butler's many tasks was to supervise the cleaning
0:08:16 > 0:08:20of the silver, and in posh country houses
0:08:20 > 0:08:25they made their own silver cleaner from some surprising ingredients.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28They used to burn deer antlers.
0:08:28 > 0:08:34- Really?!- And the hooves, and calcidum, and you get something which was called hartshorn,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37which was in fact ammonium carbonate,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40which is a very caustic and alkaline substance,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44but it cleans all of the oxide and tarnish off the silver.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Let me see if I can see my face in it.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- I can, actually! - HE LAUGHS
0:08:50 > 0:08:53You've been polishing very well.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56As well as shiny silver, the Earl wanted the whole house
0:08:56 > 0:09:00to impress Victoria, but there was a bit of a problem.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04At its heart, Wimpole was around 200 years old when Victoria visited
0:09:04 > 0:09:10so the reception rooms were modest in size as was the fashion when they were built.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15So the Earl has a special room ready for Victoria and Albert's dinner
0:09:15 > 0:09:18on the first night - the yellow drawing room.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22And you can understand why he chose this room.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26There is a sense of grandeur about it,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28indeed drama.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33And that's because 50 years before Victoria's visit
0:09:33 > 0:09:35the fourth Earl's predecessor...
0:09:35 > 0:09:39'this chap, the third Earl, made the room dramatically bigger.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42'But because it's in the middle of the house,'
0:09:42 > 0:09:45he couldn't go out so he went up.
0:09:46 > 0:09:52He knocked out the floor above and squeezed this elegant dome into the old structure.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56And just to be absolutely sure the room passed muster, our man,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00the fourth Earl, redecorated just before Victoria arrived.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04It must have looked absolutely radiant.
0:10:06 > 0:10:14Now, this room has one other special feature in that very dome, one of the house's two ventilating gas lights.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18This was the cutting edge technology of the era,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21fed from a gas works on the estate and especially designed
0:10:21 > 0:10:26to draw the vapours from a room out through the chimney above.
0:10:26 > 0:10:34The ventilating gas light was regulated using this charming brass dial. I love it, don't you?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Look, gas off, full on, or sunlight.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42What a wonderful term to describe what would be no doubt
0:10:42 > 0:10:46just a warm glow from way up there in the cupola.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Historians have wondered whether they were installed especially
0:10:50 > 0:10:53for Victoria's visit, but I think it is unlikely.
0:10:53 > 0:11:00In the 1840s, gas lighting was still very new and was considered rather common by the upper classes.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04One thing is certain, dinner for Victoria on her first night
0:11:04 > 0:11:07was meant to be anything but common.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12But despite all the meticulous preparations for the royal dinner,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15things did not go exactly to plan.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18The table was laid up for 24 people,
0:11:18 > 0:11:23all the great and the good of the county were here
0:11:23 > 0:11:29so it was a pretty snug fit, but things were due to get a whole lot snugger.
0:11:29 > 0:11:36In the house records, the Earl's steward writes that on the pretence of helping to serve dinner
0:11:36 > 0:11:40the servants of the other house guests elbowed their way into the dining room.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43He says, "It were not good at this point."
0:11:43 > 0:11:48The fact was the servants of the guests got in,
0:11:48 > 0:11:54being curious to see the queen and threw Lord Hardwicke's servants
0:11:54 > 0:11:56into a complete confusion
0:11:56 > 0:12:02so the poor old Earl's meticulous plans went down the toilet.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Now, where's that Rosemary?
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Hi. Actually, Tim, we servants are about to cook your supper.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12I'm lining a bowl with soft butter in preparation for a dessert
0:12:12 > 0:12:18that was incredibly popular at the time of Victoria's visit here, steamed cabinet pudding.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24We're going to cut up some little pieces of these glace cherries and
0:12:24 > 0:12:29you are going to stick them around the mould in a nice regular pattern.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31That is very thick of butter.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Perfect. It's going to act as a glue.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37- Yes.- But also as a releasing agent so that we do get the pudding out.
0:12:37 > 0:12:44- These are dried cherries, and something the housekeeper will be keeping in her room.- Exactly, yes.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48Just like the butler kept his wine in the wine cellar, she kept all of her dry goods in the dry larder.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52- Yes.- And, of course, we would now call these glace cherries.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54So I'm just going to pop it in.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58'The cherries are placed in a regular pattern all round the mould.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01'This posh Victorian cooking is so intricate.
0:13:01 > 0:13:07'Imagine how nerve wracking it would have been knowing Victoria was the person you were making it for.'
0:13:08 > 0:13:10I'm going to put it in the ice over here.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13The ice will make the butter solidify.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17and those cherries will be absolutely stuck on the surface.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Otherwise they will slip down, won't they?
0:13:19 > 0:13:23Next, some chopped homemade candied lemon peel.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26That is wonderful.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Straight off the tree into the syrup so it is really, really fresh.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Am I doing these the right size?
0:13:31 > 0:13:33- That's absolutely perfect.- OK, good.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37The butter has solidified, holding the cherries firmly in place.
0:13:37 > 0:13:45Now we fill the mould with layers of crumbled sponge cakes, macaroons, ratafias, little almond biscuits.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49- We're going to carefully fill it. - Is that about right, those sizes?
0:13:49 > 0:13:54That's perfect. So if we put a little layer in and stop because you need to put in a bit of peel now.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- Oh, right.- So we're going to build a layer of sponge,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59a layer of sponge and ratafia.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03We've probably got more than enough there. I'll put a bit of peel in.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Next we make a custard with half a pint of full cream milk,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11half a pint of fresh cream,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13one and a half ounces of sugar
0:14:13 > 0:14:18and finally, three whole eggs and one egg yolk.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23Then you can beat it, but just gently, we don't need to whip it up into a froth or anything like that.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Well, that's just a lovely custard.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29It's one of the most favourite flavours of the Victorian period.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32I'm sure that Queen Victoria would have loved it.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Now we pour the custard carefully into the mould.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37All of that lovely custard
0:14:37 > 0:14:41will just soak in to those wonderful ratafias...
0:14:43 > 0:14:46..and the sponge and the macaroons.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50We need to let that settle because all of that custard will just get
0:14:50 > 0:14:53- sucked in by the holes in the sponge.- How did it go?- That's right!
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Did you know that sponge was called that because originally
0:14:56 > 0:15:01sponge biscuits were for dipping into wine and soaking up the wine?
0:15:01 > 0:15:05- I never knew that. - I will just put the rest of that in. It has soaked for a while now
0:15:05 > 0:15:09so I think it will probably be settled. If I take the mould out...
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Let me get hold of it first. Right, you get that ice out of the way.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15- Yes.- And put that down there.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Could you put the lid on while I hold it steady?- Of course. - You will have to turn it round.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- There we go, it's fitted beautifully.- Right.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25We'll let that rest for about 20 minutes and then straight into the steamer.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32There's another first-hand account of Victoria's visit to Wimpole
0:15:32 > 0:15:34from her young maid of honour, Eleanor Stanley.
0:15:34 > 0:15:39On the morning of Victoria's second day here as the clock struck nine,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43Victoria sailed through the entrance hall to the chapel.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46She was going to her morning prayers.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Except those servants were about to cause another hiccup.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51HE HICCUPS
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Down there...
0:15:53 > 0:15:56the chapel was full of servants.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57Why?
0:15:57 > 0:16:04Well, Eleanor, Victoria's maid of honour, reckons that the household hadn't cleared the servants because,
0:16:04 > 0:16:08"Having no notice that she was coming in at all
0:16:08 > 0:16:12"and no idea that she would walk straight into the chapel
0:16:12 > 0:16:15"without saying a word to anybody."
0:16:15 > 0:16:20So Victoria found herself confronted with a chapel full of servants.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22How distressing.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24I know the feeling.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27- Oi, what are you doing down there? - Well, Tim, it's not my fault.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30This chapel was also used by the domestic staff
0:16:30 > 0:16:34to assemble in the morning to receive their orders for the day.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36The bell is nearby so if they ring...
0:16:38 > 0:16:42..they can scurry off really quickly, which is exactly where I'm going.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Can't be soon enough for me.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Anyway, the faux pas was not grave,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52the Queen simply shrugged it off and laughed.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55And her cheeky maid records,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00"It was all her own fault for not giving notice of her intentions."
0:17:00 > 0:17:05But if she ever did get a moment in this room,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07she would have been swept away by its beauty.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12The lavish baroque decoration dates from the 1720s
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and it's full of visual trickery.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19All of the architecture above the panelling is actually magnificent
0:17:19 > 0:17:22trompe l'oeil painted effects,
0:17:22 > 0:17:27giving the 3D impression of depth, light and shadow.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Having created these images, the artist wanted to make
0:17:30 > 0:17:34quite sure everyone who had done such a good paint job.
0:17:34 > 0:17:41No indistinct miserable little squiggle of a signature in one corner of the room for this artist, oh, no.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46For Sir James Thornhill, it's bold as brass above the door.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Well, they do say it pays to advertise.
0:17:51 > 0:17:58In large country houses like Wimpole those of us downstairs had to remain invisible to the toffs
0:17:58 > 0:18:05so some doors had a special surface to make sure no servants wandered into the wrong room by accident.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Now, this is really interesting.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Imagine you had got up at five o'clock in the morning,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16really early, really tired and it's dark around the place
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and you come to this door and you're feeling it
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and you feel these raised dots.
0:18:22 > 0:18:23This is a warning.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27There is someone on the other side who doesn't want to see you.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Victoria's host, the fourth Earl of Hardwicke, wasn't only a sailor,
0:18:44 > 0:18:46but also a great farming enthusiast.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50This is Home Farm, a model farm built by the Earl's father.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55We know the royal couple came here during their stay because in her diary Victoria records,
0:18:55 > 0:19:01"We walked to the farm which is beautiful and there was a heifer being fathered, a great beauty.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03"Also young calves, pigs and fowls."
0:19:03 > 0:19:08Albert was interested in examining various ploughs. Typical bloke, eh?
0:19:12 > 0:19:17The current farm manager, Richard Morris, explains why this model farm was set up.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21He was a chap who was interested in agriculture and agricultural
0:19:21 > 0:19:27improvement. He looked around the country and he wanted to bring the ideas home to show his farm managers
0:19:27 > 0:19:32and his tenants so he got Sir John Soane to design the farm and the built it here and they brought back
0:19:32 > 0:19:35the quality of stock and they brought in the mechanisation,
0:19:35 > 0:19:40and then they brought in neighbours, tenants, managers, to learn about best practice.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44We know from Victoria's diary that she came down to the farm.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49- Is this the sort of beast that she would have seen down here at that time?- Definitely.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52This is an English Longhorn, developed late 1700s by farmers
0:19:52 > 0:19:56who realised that due to genetics in animals, it had the potential
0:19:56 > 0:20:01to produce a lot more food so they started cross breeding and this chap is a result of that breeding.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04And these slowly spread through the whole country
0:20:04 > 0:20:08during the next 30-40 years. So he will have been about at the time.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13But in agriculture things were all changing in the 1840s and 1850s in Britain, weren't they?
0:20:13 > 0:20:17It was an unbelievably exciting time to be involved with agriculture.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Everything was changing, the genetics of the animals, the development of breeds,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25species of crops that were grown in the field, the sort of agronomy that was used
0:20:25 > 0:20:31to increase those yields of those crops, and also mechanisation played a massive part in the growth
0:20:31 > 0:20:34of the sort of output of farms and profit.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36This is before we get steam traction engines and all the rest of it,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- because they are here in the 1850s, aren't they?- That's right.
0:20:39 > 0:20:45We know from documented evidence that a static steam engine was put in our woodyard here by 1851.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Undoubtedly before that the mobile steam engines will have started
0:20:48 > 0:20:51to come in and do jobs like thrashing of the corn.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Victoria does record seeing
0:20:54 > 0:21:00the fathering of a show heifer for Smithfield. What does that mean?
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Well, to spare her blushes, it actually meant that the heifer was being put in calf by a bull.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- Being mounted by...- Being mounted by a big chap like this, yes.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Crikey! That would be quite a sight, wouldn't it?
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- Quite impressive, and it happens quite quickly.- Does it?
0:21:14 > 0:21:18- Yes. For the heifer's benefit. - Well, that's a relief for Victoria.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Perhaps Victoria and Albert took some inspiration
0:21:24 > 0:21:30from their visit here because within two short years, they had set up
0:21:30 > 0:21:35their very own model farm at Osbourne House on the Isle of Wight.
0:21:35 > 0:21:36How sweet!
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Back in the butler's pantry, our cabinet pudding has now been steamed.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46I've taken it out of the saucepan and I've let it rest for about 20 minutes
0:21:46 > 0:21:49so if you could just gently pull that off, it should come off easily.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52- I think I have to do it down here on the floor. - I'll hold it steady for you.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55- Well done.- Got it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Right. Now, hopefully, that looks pretty good, doesn't it?
0:21:58 > 0:22:01- Yes, that looks pretty good. - What we've got to do is kind of...
0:22:01 > 0:22:06- Shall I?- Just like that trick. No, you invert that over it...- OK.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10And then if you just go like that, I'll slide it into the middle.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15- Ah, now.- OK. Now, this is very... Just let it rest for a little while.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18- Gravity will do its trick. - Yes.- We hope.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22There's a lord up there waiting, and a queen, for their pudding.
0:22:22 > 0:22:27If I can't get this out, we've got scrambled egg. So I'm going to pray
0:22:27 > 0:22:31to the pudding god and just hope that we manage to do it!
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Just give it a very gentle little shake.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36- Can you feel it glooping out?- Yes.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Is it coming?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Just give it a little shake, that's it. Hey, it's coming.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Yes, lift it up very, very gently.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Fantastic!
0:22:48 > 0:22:49- Well done! - HE LAUGHS
0:22:49 > 0:22:52- Fantastic! - That's fantastic.- It's wonderful.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54- It worked really well.- I love it.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56I love it!
0:22:56 > 0:23:00To go with the cabinet pudding, a rich sauce made with rum,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03brandy, white wine, orange and lemon,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05a real adult extra.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10It will lift this very delicate pudding into the realms of an alcoholic dream.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14- It will be wonderful for you.- One Victorian pudding ready to serve.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20This was supposed to be a relaxing break for Victoria and Albert,
0:23:20 > 0:23:25but on the second night this room hosted an event
0:23:25 > 0:23:30which the Earl simply asked a few close mates to for a knees up.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33300 close mates, actually.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39It may well be one of the finest libraries of any house in the country
0:23:39 > 0:23:43but I bet as guests partied away they weren't looking at the books.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47The Times of the day records that,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51"By 9.30pm the line of carriages arriving at the house
0:23:51 > 0:23:55"could not have extended less than two miles.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00"There was a two-mile queue back, it was raining heavily, just like today,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04"with a boisterous wind, just like today,"
0:24:04 > 0:24:08and by the time they got inside past the line of guardsmen
0:24:08 > 0:24:12who had been drafted in as bouncers on the door,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16they would have been in need of a jolly good drink.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Now you are talking my language.
0:24:19 > 0:24:25Victoria and Albert arrived downstairs in this room at 10pm.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Victoria looked resplendent in a yellow brocade dress
0:24:29 > 0:24:35with a wreath of roses in her hair. The guests no doubt were very excited
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and in awe at the close proximity with which they found themselves
0:24:39 > 0:24:43to their monarch, but for one poor young chap,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Victoria was about to get too close for comfort.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51'The party moved into the Long Room to dance.'
0:24:52 > 0:24:57There is a story about one unfortunate chap
0:24:57 > 0:25:01called Caledon who was thrown into a complete panic
0:25:01 > 0:25:07when he was told he was scheduled to dance with Her Majesty.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Caledon begged his cousin,
0:25:10 > 0:25:17the magnificently named Balcarres Dalrymple Wardlaw Ramsay,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20for a crash course in the dance steps.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24So the two lads nicked a bottle of champagne,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28snuck off into an adjoining room, and Ramsay records,
0:25:28 > 0:25:35"The perspiration running down Caledon's face, I am tossing the champagne down his throat."
0:25:35 > 0:25:38He at last heard his doom called out,
0:25:38 > 0:25:43"Lord Caledon, Lord Caledon, the Queen's dance!"
0:25:43 > 0:25:49It seems that Lord Hardwicke had noticed the poor boy's blind terror
0:25:49 > 0:25:56and had tipped the wink to Queen Victoria who was already on the dance floor, because according to Ramsay
0:25:56 > 0:25:59"She laughed heartily when Caledon came up
0:25:59 > 0:26:04"looking like a malefactor being led for his execution."
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Poor chap.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11And after the Earl had invited 300 people
0:26:11 > 0:26:16to his house for such a grand event, Victoria merely writes in her diary
0:26:16 > 0:26:19that it was, "A very pretty LITTLE ball."
0:26:19 > 0:26:24I think I'd be a bit peeved if that's all Victoria had said if I had gone to all that trouble.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29Not as peeved as I'll be if you don't like my Victorian cabinet pudding.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33What is this half a cannon ball you have brought me?
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Now, this is called a cabinet pudding.
0:26:35 > 0:26:41It's done with ratafia biscuits, sponge, soaked up with a custard and put some lovely lemon peel,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44and with some cherries on the outside as you see.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48But this is not quite finished yet.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53We're going to pour some incredibly alcoholic sauce over the top...
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- Oh, good.- ..which has in it some wine, some brandy...- Oh, good.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58- ..some rum...- Oh, yes.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00..orange and lemon
0:27:00 > 0:27:05and I'm just going to pour it over so it really soaks it all up.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It looks positively naughty, I have to say.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Well, in the Victorian times, they were naughty.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15They put alcohol in SO many things. I'm going to serve you some of this.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- Now, I have to pour the alcohol over.- I like the sound of this.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24- I know you do.- More juice, please. - No, don't be greedy!- Oh, all right.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- I'm going to take a little bit for myself.- Listen you...
0:27:28 > 0:27:32A little bit for yourself! I'm not sure cook hasn't already
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- been on the sauce, if you don't mind my saying so.- Come on, Tim, try it.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37Stand by for this.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Is smoke going to come out of my ears?
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Oh, my God!
0:27:50 > 0:27:55I tell you what's so good, is that out of this alcohol you get fantastic fruits, don't you?
0:27:55 > 0:27:58I rather like eating my alcohol though,
0:27:58 > 0:28:03- it makes such a change to pouring it down the throat in another way. Brilliant.- Wonderful.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Next time on Royal Upstairs Downstairs, we'll be at Belvoir Castle
0:28:09 > 0:28:12where Victoria continues her campaign to improve Albert's image
0:28:12 > 0:28:16with a PR stunt at the castle's hunt.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Do you think they all came to watch Albert fall off?
0:28:20 > 0:28:23I think that's always at the back of hunting people's minds.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:50 > 0:28:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk