Illustration showing Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Osborne

Kids Rule! The Victorians

Welcome to the Kids Rule! guide to castles where you can learn about England’s history, discover more about our sites and find loads of fun things to watch, read and do! We're taking a closer look at the Victorians – here's what we've got in store for you:

Young children reading a copy of The Kids Rule! Guide to Victorian England

READ THE KIDS RULE! GUIDE TO VICTORIAN ENGLAND

Don’t miss the latest issue of Kids Rule! magazine to learn all about the Victorians, including the story of Queen Victoria’s holiday home on the Isle of Wight, the experiments famous biologist Charles Darwin did in his garden and what would have been included in a Victorian feast. Plus, we’ve also got a quiz to help you discover if you could have made it as an apprentice gardener and a dress-up kit to help you transform yourself into Queen Victoria or Prince Albert.

This is the 10th in our series of Kids Rule! magazines following the history of England. Each issue is designed to help you discover more about our properties through fun facts, illustrated stories and games.

Read The Magazine

Mrs Crocombe with young English Heritage Members in Victorian period costume

WATCH: AN INTERVIEW WITH MRS CROCOMBE AT AUDLEY END HOUSE AND GARDENS

We sent young English Heritage Members Ollie and Jack to Audley End House and Gardens to meet Mrs Avis Crocombe, who was the cook at the house in the 1880s.

Find out about life in the kitchen at Audley End, how many people Mrs Crocombe had to help her prepare the meals, and just how the food made it from the kitchen to the dining room. She also shares the secrets to preparing a delicious custard pudding!

Watch the video

RECIPE: MAKE YOUR OWN QUEEN DROP BISCUITS

Have a go at making queen drop biscuits, the instructions for which are taken from a handwritten recipe in Mrs Crocombe’s very own book.

Download our recipe, and ask an adult to help you follow the instructions to make the biscuits, which are full of currants and flavoured with almond. Delicious!

Download the recipe

Young children dressed up at Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

DRESS-UP KIT: DISGUISE YOURSELF AS QUEEN VICTORIA OR PRINCE ALBERT

If you’ve always wanted to be royalty, now’s your chance! We’ve created a Queen Victoria mask and sceptre, plus a Prince Albert mask and moustache for you to download and make your own

props, so you can get a feel for what it was like to be a member of the Royal family.

Follow the instructions to create your props and then strike a right royal pose!

Download your kit

Illustration showing an industrial Victorian town scene

DOWNLOAD YOUR COOL VICTORIAN TOWN POSTER

In every issue of your Kids Rule! magazine we’re giving away a free poster showing how people lived in England through the ages. If you missed the last magazine, don’t worry as you can still get your hands on the previous posters online.

Each of the posters follow on from each other, allowing you to create a mega timeline of English history! Don’t miss the poster of life in Edwardian England, which is due to appear in the next issue of the magazine and here on the website in July.

Download your poster