Queen Victoria and Prince Albert loved Scotland dearly, and from the time of their first visit in 1842, they began to assemble a notable collection of watercolours for their Souvenir Albums, recording the places they had seen. Professional artists such as Sir Edward Landseer, Carl Haag, James Giles, William Wyld and George Fripp were commissioned to record the appearance of the old and new castles at Balmoral and the royal holidays. After the Prince's death, a number of artists were summoned back to Balmoral to paint pictures that would preserve memories of happier days. The Queen's watercolours of the Highlands provided her with a constant source of pleasure and the creation of this fascinating collection is the central them of Delia Millar's book.
The author has made use of much unpublished material and many of the paintings selected for illustration, which are almost exclusively drawn from the Royal Collection, have never been reproduced before.