Friends who have read the Chinese Valentine's Day tweet "True love, as beautiful as a fairy tale" must have been moved by the true love story between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

　　Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

　　But you know what? Prince Albert had many identities, one of which was one of the main planners of the first World Expo (then called the Universal Exhibition).

　　Crystal Palace Testimony

　　In 1928, newly married couple Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng embarked on a honeymoon trip to Europe at the suggestion of Liang Qichao to study various European architecture.

　　They saw a peculiar "glass greenhouse" in the UK.

　　crystal palace

　　Lin Huiyin wrote in her diary:"From this building, I saw the original psychological reasons that triggered the new aesthetic concept of the era. There is a new spirit in this era. The Crystal Palace is a symbol of an era of great change."

　　This unique "glass greenhouse" was known as the "Crystal Palace". Built nearly 80 years ago, the Crystal Palace not only bears witness to Britain's past glory, but was also an important pavilion for the first World Expo.

　　crystal palace

　　Let's turn the clock back to 1851.

　　On May 1, in London, England, business and political representatives from more than 20 countries around the world gathered at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park.

　　Queen Victoria presided over the opening ceremony of the first Universal Exhibition

　　Louis Haghe, Victoria and Albert Museum Collection

　　At 12 noon, the London "International Industrial Products Expo", which has been prepared for more than a year, opened with the majestic announcement of Queen Victoria. That was a grand event that demonstrates the national power and strength of the "Empire on which the Sun Never Sets". That was a national A competition of strength between the two countries - not through war, but a polite competition in a so-called civilized way.

　　As early as March 1850, Prince Albert had begun preparations for the World Expo and solicited architectural plans from all over Europe. As of April of that year, the organizing committee had received 245 applications, but none of them were suitable. At that time, there was only one year before the opening of the World Expo.

　　Joseph Parks portrait

　　Until Joseph Parks submitted the "Glass Greenhouse" plan, which challenged the traditional aesthetics of the brick-and-stone, bulky Victorian architecture at that time, triggering heated discussions among the World Expo Organizing Committee, and finally Prince Albert decided to adopt Joseph Parks's plan.

　　The "Glass Greenhouse" uses cast iron components as beams, columns and roof trusses, and glass is embedded in them to form transparent walls without the need for bricks, tiles or wood at all.

　　It took less than nine months to complete the "glass greenhouse". The entire building area was 74,000 square meters, four times the size of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. A total of 5,000 steel columns and 300,000 pieces of glass were used, almost the entire British industrial sector’s technology and power were used.

　　Crystal Palace under construction

　　From the outside, this building only has iron frames and glass, which looks crystal clear under the sunlight. Therefore, people gave it a dreamy and fairy-tale name - Crystal Palace.

　　Queen victoria portrait

　　Queen Victoria wrote in her diary on the day of the opening ceremony:“What comes into view through the iron gate is the top floor of the church, as well as countless waving palms, flowers, statues and corridors filled with people. The sound of the trumpet is a feeling I will never forget.”

　　The World Expo was undoubtedly grand and an unprecedented success and provided a template for the holding of early World Expos.

　　The inheritance and continuation of the V&A

　　After the exhibition, the Queen and Prince adopted the advice that it was necessary to maintain and improve British industrial standards in order to compete in the international market.

　　Queen Victoria and Prince Albert portrait

　　The Queen Victoria and Prince Albert used the profits from the exhibition to purchase some of the Expo exhibits and a piece of land in South Kensington, London, specifically for the establishment of cultural and scientific educational institutions.

　　Exterior view of the roof of the South Kensington Museum ("Brompton Boiler") under construction,

　　1856, Victoria and Albert Museum

　　The first of institutions founded in 1852 was known as the South Kensington Museum or Museum of Manufactures for more than 40 years and was the first incarnation of the V&A.

　　Aerial view of South Kensington Museum, from Clark's Manual, 1862,Collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

　　One of the brains behind these plans was a young civil servant named Henry Cole.

　　Portrait of Sir Henry Cole, Victoria and Albert Museum

　　He had visited similar national exhibitions in Paris and convinced Prince Albert that an international exhibition in London would educate the public and inspire British designers and manufacturers. In subsequent exhibitions, the establishment of the core of the museum and other planning, the “director” was Henry Cole.

　　Official plans for the foundation stone laying of the Victoria and Albert Museum 1899, Victoria and Albert Museum Collection

　　In her last public ceremony in 1899, Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone for Aston Webb's new scheme, declaring:"I believe it will ever remain a monument to discerning freedom and a source of refinement and progress". The occasion also marked the change of the museum's name to what we now know as the Victoria & Albert Museum.

　　Newly laid out West Central Court, 1909, Victoria and Albert Museum

　　As plans for the V&A near completion, the museum's committee had reiterated the museum's purpose of once again raising the quality of art designed and produced in the UK.

　　Portrait of Joshua Reynolds

　　To this end is the inscription surrounding the portal arch, adapted from Sir Joshua Reynolds:"The excellence of every art must consist in the complete realization of its purpose".

　　The V&A during the construction of Sir Aston Webb's new building by Louis Weirter, 1906，Victoria and Albert museum

　　Finally, the museum was completed on July 26, 1909, more than 50 years after work began on the original structure.

　　The V&A laid its foundation stone at the junction of Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road, designed by Sir Aston Webb.1899, Victoria and Albert Museum

　　The world's largest museum of decorative arts and design

　　Entering the 21st century, the V&A had embarked on a comprehensive program of restoration and redesign known as Plan for the Future. Contemporary designers are creating exciting new galleries and visitor facilities while also restoring and revealing the beauty of the original building.

　　View of the V&A's refurbished Raphael Gallery, 2021

　　Foundry Court, West Court Room 46a, 2014

　　In 2008, the collection of Rosalind and Arthur Gilbert was acquired by the V&A Museum.

　　Portrait of Rosalind and Arthur Gilbert

　　The Gilberts, who are world-famous for their collection of gorgeous, exquisitely crafted gold and silverware and other artworks, established one of the most comprehensive private collection systems in the field of European decorative arts in the 20th century.

　　Jewelled necessaire with seven-bell carillon

　　The Lafayette Vase (detail)

　　In this " A Glittering World of Masterpieces Treasures from the Rosalinda and Arthur Gilbert Collection ", we can also see their splendid collection world.

　　Today, the V&A Museum is the second largest national museum in the UK and the largest decorative arts and design museum in the world. It continues to move forward in the collection and public interpretation of art and design.

A Glittering World of Masterpieces Treasures from the Rosalinda and Arthur Gilbert Collection

　　Curator: Sun Yi

　　Exhibition period: September 26th - December 24th

　　Location: Exhibition Hall 1 of World Expo Museum

　　Ticket price: free