This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

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Landscape, Nature and Architecture

Technological improvements enabled Prince Albert to collect photographs of places that were significant to him

      GEORGE WASHINGTON WILSON (1823-93)

      The Colonel's Bed. Glen Ey. Braemar

      c. 1866

      Albumen print | 23.9 x 16.6 cm (image) | RCIN 2082055

      Photograph of a geographical feature comprising a chasm and a river. The photograph is framed on either side by sheer rock faces with water running through at the bottom. On the left is an over-hanging tree branch with ferns and indigenous plants. In the background, viewed through the gorge is a small cluster of trees on the banks of the river.

      The Colonel's Bed was reputedly used as a hiding place during the first Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. This print is an example of the cabinet sized print that was Wilson introduced in conjunction with the publishers A Marion & Co in May 1862. The cabinet print allowed the public to buy single prints of landscapes that could then be pasted into albums.

      • Creator(s)

        George Washington Wilson (1823-93) (photographer)

      • 23.9 x 16.6 cm (image)

        29.6 x 24.1 cm (page dimensions)

      • Album of Views of Balmoral and Surroundings

      • Given to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III by Queen Victoria, 28 October 1879

      • Subject(s)
        • Geography
          • Systematic geography
            • Landscapes
          • Physiography
            • Gorges
            • Rivers
        • Places
          • Europe
            • Great Britain
              • Scotland
                • Aberdeenshire [Scotland]
                  • Glen Ey [Aberdeenshire]
                    • Colonel's Bed [Glen Ey]
            • Rivers of northern Europe
              • Rivers of Scotland
                • River Dee [Aberdeen]
        Object type(s)
          • visual works
            • photographs
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