| Shaped by the personal tastes of kings and queens over more than 500 years, the Royal Collection includes paintings, drawings and watercolours, furniture, ceramics, clocks, silver, sculpture, jewellery, books, manuscripts, prints and maps, arms and armour, fans, and textiles. It is on public display at the principal royal residences and is shown in a programme of special exhibitions and through loans to institutions around the world.
The Royal Collection is held in trust by The Queen as Sovereign for her successors and the Nation, and is not owned by her as a private individual. Curatorial and administrative responsibility for the Collection is managed by the Royal Collection department, one of the five departments of the Royal Household.
The Collection has largely been formed since the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660. Some items belonging to earlier monarchs, for example Henry VIII, also survive. The greater part of the magnificent collection inherited and added to by Charles I was dispersed on Cromwell's orders during the Interregnum. The royal patrons now chiefly associated with notable additions to the Collection are Frederick, Prince of Wales; George III; George IV; Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; and Queen Mary, consort of George V.
Unlike most art collections of national importance, works of art from the Royal Collection can be enjoyed both in the historic settings for which they were originally commissioned or acquired and in the purpose-built Queen's Galleries, which host a programme of changing exhibitions. The Royal Collection is on display at the royal palaces and residences, all of which are open to the public. The official residences of The Queen have a programme of changing exhibitions to show more of the Collection to the public, particularly those items that cannot be on permanent display for conservation reasons. Touring exhibitions and loans to institutions throughout the world are part of the commitment to broaden public access and to show works of art in new contexts.
Over 3,000 objects from the Royal Collection are on long-term loan to museums and galleries around the United Kingdom and abroad. National institutions housing works of art from the Collection include The British Museum, National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of London, the National Museum of Wales and the National Gallery of Scotland.
The Royal Collection receives no Government grant-in-aid or public subsidy. It is administered by the Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The Trust was set up by The Queen in 1993 under the chairmanship of The Prince of Wales, following the establishment of the Royal Collection Department in 1987. |
|
The babe in the womb, c.1511
The Mainz Psalter, 1457
Buckingham House: The Octagon Library
Mosaic Egg
Elephant Automaton
|
