![Exhibition banner - painting of a man seated by a tree](https://cmsadmin.rct.uk/sites/default/files/lead_image_half_height/PP_QGE_exhib_half.jpg)
FRENCH
Queen Victoria's birthday fan
1858RCIN 25411
The 15-year-old Victoria, Princess Royal, decorated this fan as a birthday gift for Queen Victoria in 1856. Its flowers form an acronym for VICTORIA. From left to right: violets; irises; cornflowers, convolvulus and corn ears; tulips and thistles; orange blossoms; roses, ivy, and auricula. Connected by swags containing the names and birthdates of Victoria, Albert and their first eight children, they flank the figures of Fame and Peace, possibly a reference to the end of the Crimean War.