he Herbert Family of Muckross enjoyed a high
social standing, which reached its climax in 1861,
with the visit of Queen Victoria to Killarney.
Although the Queen had visited Ireland on two
previous occasions, in 1849 and 1853, this was the
first time that Kerry was included in her
itinerary.
The Queen was accompanied by Albert, the Prince
Consort, the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred,
Princess Alice and Princess Helena.
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.jpg)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901) of the United
Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of
India,
ascended the throne in 1837
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The Royal party stayed the night of Monday, 26
August, at Killarney House, home of the Earl of
Kenmare. They then travelled on to Muckross, where
they spent the following two nights. The Queen's
visit to Killarney House was very much a state
occasion. However, her stay at Muckross was a much
more private affair. The local press reported that
Her Majesty'had declared her intention of being
"very quiet" while at Muckross.'
(Kerry Evening Post, Wednesday 28 August
1861).
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Prince
Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born
in 1819 and married Queen Victoria in 1840.
He died of typhoid in December 1861
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Albert
Edward (1841-1910), Prince of Wales.
Ascended the throne as Edward VII in
January 1901 following the death of his
mother Queen Victoria
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At 6.30 pm on the evening of Monday, 26 August,
the Royal train arrived in Killarney from Dublin.
The Royal party were then escorted to Killarney
House, where a large dinner was held that evening.
The next day the Queen embarked at Ross Castle for
a day on the Lakes. Lunch was served at Glena
Cottage. In the evening the party returned to Ross
Quay, from where they were escorted back to
Killarney House.
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Queen Victoria spent the night of Monday 26
August,
in this house, known as Killarney House.
It was demolished during the 1870s
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At about 6.30pm that same evening, Tuesday 27
August, the Queen and her family set out for
Muckross. They were accompanied by The Right Hon.
Henry Arthur Herbert, Viscount Castlerosse (of the
Kenmare family) and a troop of the Royal Dragoons.
The Times described how Mr and Mrs Herbert
received the Queen on the lawn at the door of
Muckross House. A host of other ladies and
gentlemen were also present and greeted the Queen
enthusiastically.
(The Times, Friday 30 August
1861).
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Muckross House, 1861, immediately
prior to the visit of Queen Victoria.
Illustrated London News, 24 August 1861
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Elaborate preparations had been carried out at
Muckross for the Royal visit. Tapestries, mirrors,
Persian carpets, silverware, musical instruments,
linen, china and servants' uniforms, are all said to
have been specially commissioned for the occasion.
The curtains, which still hang in the Dining Room
of Muckross House, were specially woven, probably
in Paris, for the occasion.
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Queen's Bedroom, Muckross House
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The Queen's apartments at Muckross were
described in the local press as follows:
'An entire section of the mansion has been set
apart for the royal family, so that all their
apartments communicate without the necessity of
passing into the corridors to be used by other
occupants of the house. The Queen will live here in
privacy, and from the windows of her rooms she can
walk into delightful grounds, which will be kept
private during her stay at Muckross. In her sitting
room - which, like all the others, is a splendid
apartment furnished richly and tastefully, there is
a series of views of the Lakes of Killarney,
painted by Mrs Herbert. They are works of the
highest artistic excellence.'
(Kerry Evening Post, Wednesday 28 August
1861).
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Window
Upholstery installed in the Diningroom of
Muckross House for the visit of Queen
Victoria in August 1861
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Torc
Waterfall, Killarney
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The following day the Queen, accompanied in her
carriage by Mrs Herbert, drove around the Muckross
Demesne, visiting Dinis Island, Mangerton and Torc
waterfall. Following lunch at Muckross House, the party
then embarked at Muckross boathouse for Tomies to view
a stag hunt upon the Lake. (Kerry Evening
Post, Saturday 31 August 1861). |
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Mr Herbert's Staghunt, Killarney, Upper Lake,
1878, by W.A. Nesfield
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On Thursday 29th August, the morning of her
departure, Queen Victoria visited Muckross Abbey, a
fifteenth century Franciscan friary within the
Muckross demesne. Eleanor, the eldest Herbert
daughter described this visit as having been,
'very quiet, hardly any of the suite with us,
they were all enchanted and wandered over it
gathering ferns and leaves as recollections. She is
to have ivy from the Abbey and ferns from various
places sent to Osborne as recollections of this
place.'
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Watercolour of Muckross Abbey, 1861, by Mary
Balfour Herbert. Queen's Bedroom, Muckross
House
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Before departing from Muckross, the Queen sent
for Mrs Mary Herbert and presented her with a
bracelet of gold, pearls and diamonds. Her
daughters, Eleanor and Blanche, also each received
a piece of jewellery. The Royal Collection at
Windsor Castle contains three water-colours by Mary
Herbert. Presumably Mary presented these to the
Queen on her departure.
At noon the Royal party left Muckross House for
Killarney Railway station. There they boarded their
train for Dublin, which they reached in just a
little over five hours. Mr Miller, Chief engineer
of the Great Southern and Western Railway drove the
train both to and from Killarney.(Kerry Evening
Post, Saturday 31 August 1861). The
unstable financial situation of the Herberts in the
late nineteenth century may have stemmed from the
outlay involved in preparations for this Royal
visit.
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