Frogmore Mausoleum, Windsor

Frogmore Mausoleum

A. J. Humbert (1822-1877) and Ludwig Grüner (1801-1882)

1862 onwards (consecrated at the end of 1862; decoration finally completed in 1871)

Home Park, Windsor, Berks.

Queen Victoria initiated the project for a new mausoleum close to her mother's in the grounds of Frogmore House, Windsor, within days of Prince Albert's death in 1861. The Italianate structure is in the shape of a Greek cross, with a portico and a copper domed roof [continued below].

Photograph, caption, and commentary by Jacqueline Banerjee. Click on the image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.

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It was based on a design by Professor Ludwig Grüner, who had been the prince's artistic adviser, and who is sometimes credited entirely with the work. The design was developed by A. J. Humbert, who was "competent in most styles if not especially inspired" (Robinson), and a favourite architect of the prince. More generally, the structure may also have been inspired by a small building in the grounds of Claremont, the home of the Queen's uncle Leopold, which she had visited many times as a child. The queen must have been pleased with the result. Among Humbert's later works was the rebuilding of Sandringham in Norfolk for the royal family.

Inside the new mausoleum, the tomb of the Queen and Prince Albert lies directly underneath the dome. With its marble effigies, it was the last work of Baron Marochetti; the effigy of Queen Victoria, completed at the same time as that of Prince Albert, was eventually installed after her death in 1901. According to Lynn Pearson: "The interior of the mausoleum is beautifully decorative, with many religious murals and its starry blue dome" (12).

Bibliography

"Frogmore House, Gardens, and Mausoleum" (The Royal Windsor Website). Viewed 21 April 2010.

Pearson, Lynn F. Discovering Famous Graves. Princes Risborough, Bucks.: Shire, 1998.

Robinson, John Martin. "Sandringham: The Norfolk Country Home of H.M. the Queen." (Country Life, 29 May 2008). Previously available at http://www.countrylife.co.uk/countryside/food/article/258593/Sandringham-The-Norfolk-home-of-HM-the-Queen.html (viewed 21 April 2010).

Created 21 April 2010; last modified 16 November 2023