Royal Bedrooms
The King’s Apartments
In John Nash’s scheme George IV’s suite was relocated from the upper floor to the ground floor. The move provided easy access for the king (who by now was overweight and suffering from gout) to his private and public rooms. These Apartments are in a more restrained decorative style. The décor and the mixture of French and English furniture combine to create an atmosphere of quiet elegance. The original green dragon wallpaper has been replaced by a hand-painted copy.
An original bed
On long-term loan from HM The Queen is an original bed that belonged to King George IV. This elaborate bed was made in 1828 for his newly refurbished private apartments at Windsor Castle.
Modern sanitation
The King’s Apartments we see today consist of bedroom, library and anteroom. The King’s bathroom led off the bedroom and had housed the latest luxurious bathing equipment. It was unfortunately demolished later in the 19th century.
The Yellow Bow Rooms
George IV’s favoured wallpaper design of dragons, phoenixes and birds of paradise was used to decorate the apartments of his brothers, the Duke of York and Duke of Clarence. Using the new and vigorous colour of chrome yellow gave the rooms their name – the Yellow Bow Rooms. This suite of rooms has been restored to the original design with the dragon paper and dado having been meticulously reproduced from original fragments and printed in the traditional manner. The vivid chrome yellow dramatically sets off the rich colouring of the Chinese oil paintings and watercolours, and contrasts impressively with the ‘red vase and flower’ chintz of the bed and window fabrics.
Queen Victoria’s Apartments
Queen Victoria first visited the Royal Pavilion in 1837 and felt it was a ‘strange, odd, Chinese looking place, both outside and inside’. She returned for a longer stay with her husband Albert and two children in 1842 and the upstairs chamber floor was adapted to accommodate the Queen and her family. Victoria held a tight rein on the crown’s purse strings and wanted to distance herself (and the monarchy) from the extravagance and indulgence of the Regency era. The Royal Pavilion failed to provide her with sufficient space and privacy, so in 1850 she sold the palace to the town of Brighton. Her three rooms - the Queen’s bedroom, the Maid’s room and the closet - have now been restored to reflect their appearance between 1837 and 1845. Queen Victoria’s bedroom is decorated with an exquisite hand-painted chinoiserie wallpaper, based on original Chinese wallpapers. These wallpapers were produced in sets that, when hung, formed a continuous non-repeating scene. The mahogany four-poster bed (furnished with six mattresses of straw, hair and feathers) is copied from an original 1830s bed at Stratfield Saye. The Maid’s Room is decorated with a reproduction of the original wallpaper supplied by courtesy of Brunschwig et Fils. The Closet was used as a servant’s room during George IV’s reign and was converted into a water closet, either for King William IV or Queen Victoria.
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