A LEADING New Forest school marked the centenary of Queen Victoria's death by turning the clock back to the 1860s.

Victoria, who reigned for a record 63 years, died at the age of 81 at her beloved Osborne House on the Isle of Wight on January 22, 1901.

But staff and pupils at Hordle Walhampton School, Lymington, went back even further in time.

They showed what a royal visit would have looked like had one taken place in 1865, four years after the death of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert.

Pupils watched from the windows as the "queen", dressed in black, rode up the main drive on a Highland pony.

She dismounted in the courtyard and proceeded into the Great Hall, where she was greeted by scores of children dressed in Victorian costume.

Pupils sat spellbound as Victoria talked about aspects of her life, including her Scottish servant, John Brown. And some of the children incurred the queen's wrath when they asked if she wanted to marry Brown - or whether he had wanted to marry her.

"Is there no propriety?" she asked.

"Don't ask such questions, especially of your sovereign."

Victoria was portrayed by Maureen Sadler, who works at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. Brown was played by Colin Keir, of the Lymington Players.

The event was devised by Michael Walsh, head of history at the school.

He said: "I was very surprised to learn that very little was being done locally to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Queen Victoria's death.

"Much of our modern way of life can be traced back to Victorian England, so it seemed important to mark the anniversary and remember an era that had huge importance in the life of this country."