How To Prepare For A Royal Visit In Victorian Style | Royal Upstairs Downstairs | Absolute History

Presenters Rosemary Shrager and Tim Wonnacott visit Hatfield House in Hertfordshire to reveal the story of Queen Victoria's visit there in 1846. Victoria was 27 years old and had been on the throne for nine years.
Renowned as a great political and social centre, Hatfield also had a very special connection to royalty: it had been the home of Elizabeth I. Tim reveals the story of a tree on the estate that links the two monarchs.
Confirmation of Victoria's visit only reached the host just ten days before she arrived, and using the queen's own diary and other first-hand accounts, Tim reveals the panic behind the scenes when the royal couple decided to drop in at the last minute - including a nearly disastrous clash between the royal carriage and the gates.
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[@trixiecox6433]

I came here for the history, stayed for that pie

[@elisabethinca6906]

Lmao

[@trixiecox6433]

@Shelby Spider politely disagree, absolutely voting to try Meat Mountain mmm🤤

[@DaveSCameron]

Hairy pie?

[@jessicaaye3738]

There's pie? 👀

[@ashleelarsen5002]

@@DaveSCameron I wish, I don't think Peter is in this one...

[@professorsogol5824]

When you have 550 people for dinner one night, buying 709 bottles of wine for one week does not sound excessive. In the absence of any indication that the wine bottles were magnums or jeroboams, let us assume each bottle was about the size of a modern 750ml standard bottle. So 750 x 709/550 = 967ml/person. But the visit was for two nights so that would make 483ml of wine per person per night. In the UK today, a glass of wine is considered to be 175ml, so that works out to 2.76 glasses of wine per person per night. Currently the UK National Health Service recommends men and women should not drink more than 14 glasses of wine per week. Since this was a special occasion -- once in several lifetimes from the point of view of this Jacobean house -- it hards sounds like the Marquis was laying in stores for a bing-drinking Saturnalia.

[@earthalydelights]

Victorian wine glasses were far smaller than modern wine glasses. More the size of an aperitif glass today. But then again, most Victorian wines were fortified - sherries and ports -or very sweet wines like sauternes. All of which have high alcohol contents. Brandy and cognac were also de riguer at such formal events. The Victorians loved to drink - and not just the men either. It would only be much much later in the period when abstinence came to be considered a virtue for anyone and even then it was almost exclusively a middle class value. The aristocracy and the labouring classes held firmly to their taste for a dram.

[@jjayjewel]

I do believe that is just what they purchased.

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

I guarantee that was just ONE of the alcohol selections everyone imbibed that weekend. 🤣💗

[@vloveless6367]

That’s probably exactly how he figured how much wine to buy. Good for you 👍

[@laramka2940]

That's wayyy too much meat and like 10 diff kinds of them omg. The indigestion of it all

[@lonerose99]

I agree, an awful lot! And variety. Whew!

[@bluesira]

No wonder they danced for 4 hours straight after dinner! Got to work off those meat sweats! 😂

[@megancrager4397]

Talk about meat sweats lol

[@rrice1705]

Yea, but worth it!

[@ES11777]

And the ethical side of stuffing your face with murdered animals just for the sake of stuffing your face. They had lots of grains, vegetables and fruits in that era, they just chose to stuff themselves with meat since it was considered “food for the wealthy”. Smh.

[@Oonagh72]

Growing up my family ate turtle soup. I even remember seeing a can of it on the shelf in our pantry. As an adult I got a turtle. My aunt came over and kept saying “oooh. I haven’t had turtle in a long time. 🤤”. I got to the point that I would hide my turtle when she came to visit.

[@ES11777]

So sorry you had to experience this. It’s wrong on so many levels to look at someone’s pet and think of them as food… Your story sounds infuriating for me, especially as I’m vegetarian and I love tortoises and turtles. I hope they at least killed them humanely before cooking…

[@sillyboy209]

I've watched the Downton Abbey movie, and I have a pretty good idea of how stressful a royal visit can be. I also remember watching a documentary about kings beds on P.B.S. if I remember correctly, they had special beds made for a king or a queens visit, and those beds cost them alot of money for someone to sleep in for a possible 1 or 2 night stay. I also remember a rather expensive bed for a royal, and the royal did not even show up. But hey when you are royal. 🤷‍♀️

[@glynnismajor]

Your comment about the beds and no-show royal made me recall watching that documentary too. Apparently that is all I remember because I can't so much as recall the title! Smh. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[@Vix2066]

Better times. That's the most beautiful pie I've ever seen in my life 😂

[@danniel2226]

for the rich…

[@ashleelarsen5002]

Good times Mahalo! 🤙

[@kjs2077]

How many of these pies would have been made for dinner?

[@annfisher3316]

Those below the stairs surely suffered from exhaustion and panic tempers from those upstairs 😒

[@Marlonxx_]

"They've been made into *turtle soup* " Me: WHAT??!!

[@ES11777]

I know. So sad.

[@smazinnen95]

Would love to try that pie!

[@dejangotic]

my my...and I thought nothing can top that ninth circle of hell revealed during the triumphant slicing of Mrs Crocombe’s pigeon pie abomination!

[@deannaharper7589]

Abomination it is! My heart just exploded!

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

I’d have to try it before I can label it an abomination. 🤔 But it definitely looks intimidating. Lol

[@annking8633]

Love this series even though I think Victoria was an overindulged spoiled brat.

[@sharondavies7700]

They all are

[@Vix2066]

She was the QUEEN OF ENGLAND ffs of course she was spoiled

[@annking8633]

@@Vix2066 the British Monarchy and the tax payers who fund them have a weird relationship. I take your money and spend it on myself, and you praise me for it. 🤯😳🥴

[@danniel2226]

@@annking8633 yup lmao😭😭

[@Vix2066]

@@annking8633 🤔 the American government and American people have a weird relationship. 'I'll take your freedoms, your guns, your rights AND your money and let my son spend it on c r å c k' - sleepy joe biden

[@riccardodececco4404]

150 heads at a shooting - hah, that was much more fun than todays online gaming....

[@DianeC.]

Hello!!! I enjoyed joyed your video today!!

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

You know what? £70k really isn’t that absurd of a budget, to extravagantly feed 550 high profile guests (and non-extravagant servants/retinue) every meal/tea/snack/etc. for an entire weekend!🤷‍♀️

[@0hMyLife]

I love this series so much!!!! I live in the US and this show alone makes me wish I could get British channels here!!!! Lol

[@megancrager4397]

Britbox streaming channel

[@lionheart830]

Love it all! 💖💖💖

[@rubyaskin3311]

that pie would make me sick for a week

[@rrice1705]

Veal, horsemeat, chicken, pheasant, pigeon, and venison. In one pie. You don't see that much anymore. I wonder why no pork?

[@Saskatchetooner]

Forcemeat not horsemeat

[@RoseUnseen]

tim : absolute British dialogue also tim , ITS A CHAINSAW MASSACRE LOL

[@sampuatisamuel9785]

Love it xoxo

[@PhoShoTheatre]

@9:24 the man knows his way around a pie 🥧 😉

[@harlowblackadder356]

Yeah Im all about the pie. It would cost a fortune today as it would have back then.

[@kaushiksheshnagraj7176]

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[@kaylamarie1796]

If anyone watched Elona Holmes, you'll notice this was the Tewksburys home!

[@partlycloudy3519]

Seems like that meat pie would be nothing but grease or meat juice in it

[@michaeldougherty8344]

All i can say is that i wish i was there!

[@dba750]

And that huge ox of a woman didn't blink at her offspring being murdered slowly for the servants.

[@OstblockLatina]

17:17 - except you used sth just like that before in this very show in the episode about the asparagus pastry crust, only difference being you called it the same thing but in French and it was for one oblong piece of ornamental crust. Also very similar thing you used the the previous episode for gingerbreads.

[@vloveless6367]

Mixing all different kinds of animal meat in a pie sounds disgusting

[@jimorr820]

Turtle soup is not illegal in USA. Etna, Pa. has a restaurant the serves it daily.

[@dr.johnson5189]

Well this wasn’t intended for American audiences. We Brits are superior in a ways, love people of all colours, and have the best television

[@joniangelsrreal6262]

@@dr.johnson5189 👁👁 sounding quite uppity aye…?

[@dr.johnson5189]

@@joniangelsrreal6262 Right-ok

[@micearenice8963]

@@dr.johnson5189 I don't know about all ways but I'll give you a lot. damn straight on television. Watched all detective series I can find on Netflix. Plus candy and fish and chips and meat pies.

[@dr.johnson5189]

@@micearenice8963 We also have superior sports, public transit, healthcare, and education

[@harveypost7799]

Declare independence..

[@brodyszone157]

Too bad they also got sick from the foods they ate. Like potatoes leaves

[@glynnismajor]

Despite my best effort- I cannot stay awake through the information as presented

[@Valentina-Steinway]

Try another time lol 😂

[@Kirsten_is_cursed10]

A better diet would help with your energy and your complexion…

[@jamsaidemelo1367]

@@Kirsten_is_cursed10 what was the purpose to this comment? Who are you to tell her to improve the way she looks 🤔

[@Lucinda_Jackson]

🤷🏼‍♀️ Your loss!

[@glynnismajor]

@@jamsaidemelo1367 your reply and decency is much appreciated.

[@jensmith7331]

That pie is like the Victorian turducken. It looks disgusting

[@tonirad9577]

Imagine. It still goes on today . They ( the royals) still live that way .

[@lilymarinovic1644]

Not in relation to their food at least - even when entertaining they aren't quite that extra these days.

[@Holly_hamigakiko]

God, what awful presenters. Such overreaction. It feels so inauthentic. I would have preferred more history and less of their excessiveness - you couldn't trust their reactions.

[@demitraferles7970]

I agree.

[@sampuatisamuel9785]

This programme is designed to a fun and lighthearted approach to the subject.