Reading The Queen's Letter

'Reading the Queen's Letter', Scutari Hospital, by Vincent Brooks c.1855. In December 1854 Queen Victoria wrote a moving letter expressing her admiration for the wounded soldiers in the Crimea 'no one takes a warmer interest, or feels more for their suffering, or admires their courage & heroism more than their Queen'. The 'Queen's Letter', was written privately but published without permission in the press. Despite breaking protocol, it was well received and was copied and distributed among the sick and wounded in Scutari Hospital.