Queen Victoria and Prince Albert spent as much time as they could outdoors, and encouraged their children to do the same. Each child was allocated a small rectangular plot, together with their own gardening implements, including rakes and wheelbarrows, and they were taught how to cultivate flowers, fruit and vegetables. Prince Albert’s comprehensive educational approach was partly drawn from the popular theory of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 78), that children were best schooled by Nature, out of doors.