Advent Day 7: Christmas Eve 1843 – Queen Victoria’s Journals

Hermann Winterhalter, “Simplicity”, 1843, oil on canvas, RCIN 404782, Royal Collection Trust/© His Majesty King Charles III 2022

“This happy day has again returned, & it seems but yesterday we had last celebrated it. Time flies too fast. I feel certain that our Heavenly Father through His blessed Son, whose birth we at this time so joyfully & gratefully commemorate, will grant that we may celebrate many more happy Christmas Eves together, & with our Children. — Both Children were riding, when we walked out. —

At 12 we attended Service in our nice & pretty Chapel & and am so thankful to have a real proper place of worship now. The Service, which was performed by Mr Courtnay, who also preached, was well attended. — After luncheon we all walked out, & and on coming in, had the excitement & agitation of finishing arraying the “Bescherung” & presents, which to me is such a pleasure. — Gave Ly Douro, Ly Lyttelton & all our personal servants their presents & then we joined dear Mama & the Children & took them to their present tables, arranged in our large sitting room. The Children’s were covered with toys of all kinds, &c —

Albert took me into the Closet where my “Bescheerung” was arranged, & my beloved one gave me such beautiful things, that I hardly know how to be grateful enough, nor can I properly describe them all. The principal ones were, a lovely picture of him & Ernest, when children, which he had copied for me in Germany, — a beautiful silver statuette of him, on horseback, in his Hussar uniform, wonderfully carried out, as to detail, & a bracelet in white enamel with emeralds in the centre.

We then hurried to the little room, next our large one, where I had arranged my beloved Albert’s “Bescheerung”. Amongst my gifts were, a very pretty painting of a child’s head, by Winterhalter’s brother, & a small beautifully painted picture, quite in the Flemish style, by a young Belgian artist of the name of Van Meer, which Albert had greatly admired in the Exhibition at Antwerp. He was so pleased with all the presents I had chosen & thought out for him. The Children, dear little things were of course delighted, running about & so pleased with the Christmas Tree, their toys, &c — the Ansons, &c — dined. The Trees were lit up again in the Drawing room, after dinner. —”

RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ (W) [24 December 1843] (PRINCESS BEATRICE’S COPIES), VOLUME 16, p274-276, RETRIEVED [25 November 2025]. Supplied by Royal Collection Trust / © HM King Charles III