Victoria and Albert travelled widely throughout Britain and Ireland during their marriage, both for duty and pleasure. The couple incorporated many views of the places and sights they saw into their watercolour albums. Private visits were made to the country estates of the nobility, and they travelled to cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham to open new civic buildings and witness industrial progress first-hand. The Queen and Prince were interested in visiting different parts of the country, and it was important that the people had the opportunity to see them.

The royal family’s travels were widely reported in the press, and some newspapers employed artists to create illustrations to accompany the stories. Victoria and Albert read the news coverage and came to appreciate the work of some of these graphic artists, commissioning them to paint watercolours for their own albums.