Haunted Osborne: Queen Victoria's ghost

3 days ago

3 min read

Osborne House has its fair share of ghost stories passed down over the years, I like to think Queen Victoria still lingers there where she spent some of her most happiest days with her family. Not only did Queen Victoria spend her summers and sometimes her Christmases there, but she also died there in 1901.

As part of my research for my ‘Haunted Osborne’ project I have looked into several sources, from well-credited books about local folklore; to first-hand accounts from people I have met, through all of which I have come to notice a pattern. Perhaps suggested by the occasional unexplained smell of orange blossom and jasmine perfume that sweeps through the lavish rooms, the majority of the ghostly sightings report seeing female figures in various parts of the house.

There are reports of a strong floral fragrance some associated with lavender and jasmine often around Queen Victoria's dressing room. Others report a strong fragrance of Orange Blossoms in The Queen's bedroom. Orange blossoms are often associated with Queen Victoria and she supposedly used a faint perfume of orange blossoms imported from France.

A previous cleaner and custodian of Osborne House commented

“I would notice it first thing in the morning when I was opening the

rooms up, and sometimes it would linger all day. Visitors would

comment, ‘What a lovely smell there is in here.’ I would just smile and

agree. It was as if there was a strong room freshener there. The smell

would hit you as you opened the room from the Queen’s dressing room.

Occasionally, there was a real sense of Victoria’s presence in there too.

Some mornings I would walk in and say, ‘She’s here today’.”

This was echoed by Jenny Ebbs who smelled that fragrant orange

blossom four times during the 13 years she worked as a custodian at

Osborne, before retiring in 2003. “It was glorious,” said Jenny. “It only

happened to me on those few occasions in the Queen’s bedroom. I never

saw her spirit but could feel her presence was linked in some way to the

perfume. Once there was a visitor with me when it happened, and she

commented on the lovely smell. There was such a happy feeling that I

couldn’t stop smiling when perfume filled the room.” (1)

So has anyone actually seen the late Queen's ghost? with so many stories of ghosts in Osborne House i have always wondered if anyone has seen the apparition of Queen Victoria at her holiday home?

In December 20th 2006, a mother and daighter enjoyed a guided Victorian Christmas tour of Osborne House. They took plenty of photographs to document their trip. Looking back at them on their computer, they noticed in one picture a “little black blob” on the empty terrace. Zooming in they saw what looked like a figure of a woman in black; her hand visible on the stone parapet. “It made me go cold because it looked like Queen Victoria in her black mourning clothes with a white veil at the back of her head. Another photograph taken moments earlier shows the terrace (closed to the public that day) was empty,” said the mother. (2)

I like to think this may be Queen Victoria watching over her beloved holiday home but it makes me question whether she appears as her elderly self in her deep mourning, as that's how she died. Why didn't she appear as her young, vibrant self at her happiest? That leads me to our next sighting...

A local who worked as a nursing auxiliary when Osborne House was a convalescent home.

On a winter's evening she was preparing the patients' rooms for the night, after she walked down the corridor. Feeling a strong sensation of a presence, she turned around and saw

what looked like a white dress floating down the corridor, about two or

three yards behind her. She couldn’t see a head or arms on the figure, just

a long, white ball gown as it moved.

A resident in the home whose room was on that top corridor sometimes told staff he had seen a ‘white lady’ walking the halls. (3)

(1) '‘Most Haunted Island: Book six’ by Gay Baldwin, page 67 & 68

(2) 'Even More Ghosts!: Book seven’ by Gay Baldwin, page 12

(3) ‘Most Haunted Island: Book six’ by Gay Baldwin, page 76

Disclaimer: All of the stories that feature in this series are based on local tales which I have discovered either in person with witnesses or through other sources, which I will mention as the series goes along.

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