12 photos from the first documented British royal tour of the Middle East

In a new virtual exhibition by the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, photographs show Edward VII's journey to Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey

The Sphinx, the Great Pyramid and two lesser pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

The Prince of Wales and his group at the pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Fountain of Sultan Selim (Fountain of Ahmed III). Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Group of camp attendants in Beirut, Lebanon. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

The Prince of Wales and his party among the ruins in the Hypostyle Hall, Temple of Amun, Karnak. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

The photographs from the Royal Tour are included in a virtual exhibition by the Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Mosque of Omar (Dome of the Chain, at the Dome of the Rock). Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Portion of the Propylon of the Temple from the Great Court (Temple of Horus, Edfu). Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Portrait of ‘Abd al-Qadir, Damascus. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Monolithic shrine in the Adytum of Temple of Edfou. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Temple of Athor, commonly called Pharaoh's Bed, and small chapel. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

Acropolis and Temple of Jupiter Olympus (Olympeion). Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020

In 1862, Albert Edward, son of Queen Victoria and then Prince of Wales, went on an educational tour of the Middle East in preparation to become king.

The four-month journey was documented by English photographer Francis Bedford, making it the first royal tour to be captured through photography.

Albert Edward – who would later become King Edward VII in 1901 – began his trip with his entourage in Egypt, then proceeded to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Greece.

The expedition was arranged by Queen Victoria shortly after her husband Prince Albert's death. Through his trip, the royal was meant to learn history, religion and politics for his role as king.

More importantly, the British government sought to establish strong ties to Egypt’s then ruler Said Pasha. As the Ottoman Empire was set to collapse, Britain wanted to prevent the French from taking control of the Suez Canal.

Along the trip, Bedford's lens focused on the region's numerous historical landmarks, religious sites, as well as the desert landscapes and unique terrains. He created more than 200 images, during which he carried a caravan of equipment – from lenses, tripods, crates for chemicals, glass plates and more.

Bedford's albumen prints also provide insight into how Victorian England came to perceive the Middle East, and shone light on sites that had never been photographed before, including chapels and temples.

Click through the gallery to see photographs of the 1862 royal tour chronicled by Bedford.

The photographs are part of a virtual exhibition organised by Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, entitled Sights of Wonder: Photographs from the 1862 Royal Tour. It is the institute’s first online-only show, created to adhere to the coronavirus lockdown in the UK.

Sights of Wonder is developed in collaboration with the University of Birmingham's department of art history and is curated by a small group of graduate students.

While browsing the tour online, visitors are provided helpful information on the photographs and the prince’s activities during the tour. The show begins in Egypt, where the royal entourage visited the Pyramids of Giza, as well as temples in Edfu.

In Jerusalem, the tour stopped by the Dome of the Rock and the Garden of Gethsemane, while in Damascus, Bedford snapped a portrait of Abd Al Qadir, an Islamic scholar and military leader who helped Christians escape conflict between Maronites and Druze in Syria around the 1860s. The prince and Bedford eventually made it to Istanbul, stopping by Hagia Sophia, and then Greece.

The Middle East royal tour is only one of several trips the Prince of Wales had to undertake. In 1875, he visited 21 towns and cities in modern-day India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and was a guest at more than 90 royal courts.

Sights of Wonder virtual exhibition can be viewed online at sightsofwonder.barber.org.uk