SHE may not have sat at it for more than a century but the palatial dining table of Queen Victoria's Isle of Wight home has been given a festive makeover worth a seal of Royal approval.

As an extra treat for visitors to Osborne House in Cowes during this festive season they will get to see Her Majesty's dining table laden with some mouth-watering dessert delicacies made from some of her favourite authentic recipes.

Ivan Day, food historian and author, was commissioned by English Heritage to reproduce Queen Victoria's dining table set for dessert in the style she and other members of the 19th century aristocracy would have recognised.

Some of the dishes on display include his and hers' jellies, made with the original moulds used for the wedding in 1863 of Edward Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. When sliced horizontally, one jelly has the Danish flag running through it, the other depicts a white star of Brunswick.

As well as a timbale in the form of a beehive, complete with bees made from pistachios, currants and flaked almonds, an ornamental croquembouche,' held together with caramelised sugar, period cakes for dipping in sweet wines, confectionery, fruits and even walnuts tied in silk ribbon On the sideboard, there are two raised pies surrounded by a traditional boar's head as they appeared in the 1890s.