Osborne House: Tree at Queen Victoria's retreat falls in high winds

A tree at Queen Victoria’s seaside retreat has fallen down in bad weather.

One of the cedars of Lebanon, in the grounds of Osborne House, East Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, came down in high winds on Friday, English Heritage said.

It added the tree was set to be felled due to its bad health but “nature beat us there”.

The cedar was planted in the 1770s by Robert Pope Blanchford – Osborne’s owner before the Queen and Prince Albert.

The tree was retrained by Prince Albert, when he made improvements to the gardens but had been on a “noticeable lean” since a storm in either 1987 or 1990, according to the organisation.

There are other Lebanese Cedars still at Osborne, and English Heritage said it would plant another on the same spot as the one that had fallen as a replacement.

Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Beatrice buried her dog Bleny in 1893 at the base of the tree.

The memorial headstone has been disturbed by the tree’s fall but will be reinstated next to the newly planted tree.

Queen Victoria died at Osborne in 1901. The estate was given to the nation by King Edward VII on his Coronation Day the following year.

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