This exhibition shows forty four watercolours of Queen Victoria’s remarkable visit to Paris in 1855.

The historic 10-day visit was on the invitation of the Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie. The first time a reigning British monarch had visited the French capital in over 400 years, the visit ostensibly celebrated the military alliance between France and Britain against Russia in the Crimean War.

It also cemented a great personal friendship that had developed between the two rulers, just 40 years after the Battle of Waterloo.

Never before displayed in their entirety, the watercolours capture the magnificence of the occasion, showing dramatic illuminations, spectacular balls and exquisite Second Empire interiors.

All the works were commissioned by or for Queen Victoria and are generously loaned from the Royal Collection by Her Majesty the Queen.