I ventured out into the December cold to visit Brighton and soak up the Christmas atmosphere. I also booked tickets to visit the Royal Pavilion & Gardens located a short walk from the seafront to explore the cultural and historic landmark built by King George IV in the eighteenth century. The Royal Pavilion was originally a farmhouse and it took over 40 years to build up to the level that we see today. The imposing building is oriental in design and intricately designed inside and out to emulate the tastes and trending fashions in interior design of royal descendants as they passed through the gates of the Pavilion, such as Queen Victoria.
Review
I first heard about the Royal Pavilion while watching an episode of Bargain Hunt on BBC 1 and was in awe of the Banqueting Hall with its ornate chandeliers adorning the ceiling and the feeling of decadence that covers every inch of the room. Usually television magic means reality is never quite what it seems, but I was stunned when I walked into the Banqueting room – it was a feast for the eyes. A mock feast was displayed on the giant table in the centre of the room with glass wine flutes and a plethora of fruits and sweet treats. As I visited in December, I would have enjoyed a ‘Christmas dinner’ set up on the table to make the experience fitting to the season, especially as the majority of rooms featured ornately decorated Christmas trees, but this didn’t happen. The table was the centre piece of the room, but as beautiful as it was to view, I think it would have been more immersive and helped tell a story if there were animatronics, music or visuals to emulate the room in the throws of a feast. This immersive element was lacking as well as the amount of signage. The museum offers an audio guide for the tour, but as someone who doesn’t enjoy that type of engagement I missed a lot of information. I think the displays could cater towards visual learners with an immersive approach with animatronics demonstrating the type of clothes guests would have worn, otherwise it is just a room with fancy decorations and chandeliers.
Moving on, I enjoyed the contrast between ‘upstairs and downstairs’ of the nobility and the servants. The kitchen offered a stark contrast to the lavish eating room with walls covered in cooking utensils and one wall featured a large rotisserie used for cooking meat over an open fire. The lavish and opulent table of cakes, meat and fruits emphasised the life of luxury that many wealthy members of the Royal court and upper classes enjoyed. I particularly enjoyed reading the menu served to the Prince Regent and Grand Duke Nicolas of Russia by Chef Antonin Careme on 18th January 1817. The decadent dinner included 12 courses with 32 deserts and 8 soups. A mighty feast fit for a king (well Prince) indeed. I then moved onto the music hall that was just as stunning as the banqueting hall with Chinese influenced designs and a recurring dragon motif on the walls and carpet. This is a change from the traditional designs featured throughout the other Royal places in the UK such as Buckingham Palace. What makes the Royal Pavilion so special is the unusual and unique design of the rooms that explores Britain’s rise in the Empire and the success of the East India Trading Company that created opportunity to import luxury goods from overseas. The oriental design that decorates the rooms emphasised the growing trends in British decor in the eighteenth and eighteenth century. I also toured the Royal bedrooms, but these were not as exciting as the other main social rooms and it didn’t have much for visitors to engage with, especially as many just featured a bed and a few soft furnishings.
Final thoughts
Overall, the Royal Pavilion is an exciting and decadent building that is a must visit for those interested in Royal history and have a desire to see the intricacies of Chinese export and design. I enjoyed my tour of the main rooms and learning about the rich history in the heart of Brighton and urge visitors to have a look too. I will say that there isn’t a great deal of information displayed in a visual and engaging way and the visitor is required to either listen to an audio guide, ask a visitor experience assistant or read signs with small font. But overall, this is a stunning Palace that screams luxury and Royalty.
Watch my TikTok video below, where I explore Brighton.
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