In spring 2005, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery will stage Our Highland Home, a fascinating exhibition that traces the development of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort's intense love affair with Scotland and their creation of an idyllic haven far removed from the 
demands of public life.  Victoria and Albert's historic first visit in 1842, their subsequent trips and the lease and purchase of the Balmoral estate on Deeside in 1852, will all be examined. Approximately 90 items comprising paintings, engravings and sculpture will be on display 
illustrating the royal family's love of Scottish country life. Works by artists such as Turner, Landseer and Winterhalter will all be shown along with dolls dressed by the young queen, paintboxes used by her, costumes, books and manuscripts, many of which have rarely been 
exhibited in public before.

Enthralled by the country and every aspect of Scottish life, their progress was met at each step by enthusiastic crowds, triumphal arches and decorations, civic receptions and lavish private and public hospitality. The royal couple were struck by how different Scotland and its people were from England, Albert drawing many favourable comparisons with his native Germany.  They eventually decided to make their home on Deeside rather than the west coast of Scotland, 
commissioning plans to replace the small house at Balmoral with their own fairy-tale castle. Here they were to spend the happiest days of their lives.

Life at Balmoral combined business and recreation. They lived simply and without state: shooting, walking and driving. Victoria was often occupied visiting cottages on the estate and chatting with the local inhabitants. Contemporary accounts and paintings vividly conjure up 
images of intense activity: fishing, sword dances by torchlight, piping, balls, picnics, expeditions and a continuous stream of visitors, both official and private.

The exhibition will explore the deep attachment to life at Balmoral felt by the queen and her consort - an attachment that was reinforced by the circumstances of both of their childhoods. The theme will continue with images of Schloss Rosenau, Seat of H.R.H. Prince Albert 
of Coburg by Turner and The Riesensaal of the Ehrenberg Palace at Coburg by Rothbart - both palaces where Albert was brought up - and items relating to Victoria's early years, followed by references to their marriage and their perception of an ideal family life. Focusing on the couple's enthusiasm for Scotland, which was fired by their love of the novels of Walter Scott and the works of artists such as Edwin Landseer, their early visits to Scotland and rapturous reception by the Scottish people will then be examined.

The next part of the exhibition will concentrate on the castle itself, the household within it and the improvements to the whole estate as conceived by the prince and his Aberdeen architect, William Smith.  Examples will be given of life at the Highland court, highlighting the year 1855 when the princess royal and Prince Frederick William of Prussia became engaged and news of the victory at Sebastopol in the Crimea reached Balmoral.  The royal family's experience of the 'simple' life amongst the Scottish Highlands and the local population, their relationship with their staff, their expeditions and picnics, social occasions, the visits of royal relations and Albert's sporting ventures will also be described. The exhibition will end with the premature death of Albert and the poignant memorials erected to him by his grief-stricken widow.

Overlapping with, and complementing the exhibition Monarch of the Glen: Landseer in the Highlands  at the Royal Scottish Academy Building (14 April - 10 July 2005), Our Highland Home: Victoria and Albert in Scotland will draw on material from the collections of the National
Galleries of Scotland, and many prestigious public and private collections throughout the United Kingdom, including the Royal Collection Trust.  An associated colour-illustrated publication (price £9.95) on Victoria and Albert in Scotland will accompany the exhibition.

Exhibition runs from 18 March - 5 June 2005 at Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Queen Street, Edinburgh Admission £4.00 (concessions £3.00); free to children under 12.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland's Press Office on 0131 624 6325/314/332/247 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org