The Brighton Pavillion was spellbinding in its opulence and gave me a much better insight into the Prince Regent's character than I had gleaned from reading and online research. The chandeliers, gilt and furnishings were absurdly extravagant and some of the dozens of dishes on the banquet menu are sure to appear on the dinner table in my stories!
I would liked to have visited Bath but logistics made it difficult and as we were going to Royal Leamington Spa, a kind of mini-Bath, I didn't angst over it too much. Like Bath, mineral springs were discovered in Leamington, and the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths were opened in 1814. A Leamington setting is frothing away at the back of my mind.
We visited Apsley House, the first Duke of Wellington's London residence. Apsley houses a wonderful collection of portraits, but photographs were not permitted. Just across the street from Apsley is the Wellington Arch, where Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was transferred to a hearse on the day of her funeral.
Children feature in my WIP, 'Lord Benedict's Bride' so I was particularly interested to look at nurseries in the historic homes we visited. Queen Victoria's summer home on the Isle of Wight, Osborne House, is out of the Regency period, but I was fascinated to discover the nursery there was up several very narrow, steep, spirally flights of stairs. I felt for the nannies, nurses and maids who must have traverses those stairs daily - perhaps numerous times.
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