Scrapbook sheds light on Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee

Rarely seen royal documents chronicling the life of Queen Victoria are featured on a new website launched today to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

The website is called Queen Victoria's Scrapbook and comprises photographs and paintings as well as letters and extracts from her diaries.

Many of the documents have been available to academics and researchers but not widely seen by the public.

Victoria is Britain's longest reigning monarch who came to the throne aged 18 after the death of her uncle William IV in 1837.

She had nine children with her husband Albert but never recovered from his death in 1861. She wore black in mourning for the rest of her life.

Of particular interest are the sections relating to her Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which took place in 1897. An extract from her journal on the day of her Jubilee reads:

One of the highlights is Victoria's neatly written letter from June 1836 to her uncle, King Leopold I of the Belgians, describing her first impressions of her future husband Albert, whom she had met a few weeks before. She writes:

The online material is divided into nine sections and includes Victoria's childhood, her life as a wife and mother and her role as Queen of Britain and the Empire. The section are labelled:

• The Young Princess

• Becoming Queen

• Love and Marriage

• Family life

• Home and Empire

• Victorian Invention and Improvement

• Queen Victoria's Household

• Diamond Jubilee Day

• Jubilee Celebrations