Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat. Albert designed the house himself, in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo. The builder was Thomas Cubitt, the London architect and builder whose company built the main facade of Buckingham Palace for the royal couple in 1847. An earlier smaller house on the Osborne site was demolished to make way for the new and far larger house, though the original entrance portico survives as the main gateway to the walled garden.
Aerial view of Osborne House
Queen Victoria's bathing machine (restored)
The Pavilion Wing from the south-west
Prince Albert's Dressing Room, 1851, watercolour by James Roberts
East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. It has a population of 8,428 according to the 2021 Census.
East Cowes seafront, showing the Columbine Yard building with its Union Flag doors.
East Cowes Town Hall
East Cowes town centre
The Esplanade