Food historian Dr Annie Gray and the BBC were given exclusive access to the kitchens at the Swiss Cottage of Osborne, Queen Victoria's palatial holiday home on the Isle of Wight.

The kitchen and sitting room give a unique sense of how the Swiss Cottage was used. It was here that Queen Victoria’s children would have prepared teas and luncheons for family and occasional visitors, and made pies, tarts, pastries, scones and cakes. The rooms contain a full set of the cooking equipment that would have been found in a small mid-19th-century house – but with one key difference: everything is built at three-quarter scale, specifically for the children’s use.

The last time the royal children used the kitchen was in the 19th century, and it is thought that the kitchen has not been used since, until Dr Gray used it to prepare a traditional German dessert and lavender pancakes.

Bryn Jones, Marketing Manager Isle of Wight for English Heritage said "There was a real sense of history brought to life during the filming. Although using 19th century recipes and cooking techniques I can vouch for how delicious the pancakes and German dessert was!”

Visitors to Osborne can experience for themselves what the royal children’s life would have been like when they stayed at Swiss Cottage. They can explore where the children grew fruit and vegetables in the gardens around the cottage, visit the miniature fort just outside where they played, and learn about the natural curiosities they collected and once displayed in a museum originally housed in the cottage.

The programme Home Comforts is now available on iPlayer. For more from English Heritage, follow @EnglishHeritage on Twitter.