The Royal Collection launches a host of new group visits at Best of Britain and Ireland 2010
The Royal Collection will be at Best of Britain and Ireland this year to present an exciting programme of special exhibitions and new group visits to the Official Residences of Her Majesty The Queen.
Opening in March, a major new exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace celebrates Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s unique partnership and their mutual delight in exchanging works of art. Victoria & Albert: Art & Love brings together over 400 items from across the Royal Collection, including paintings, sculpture, jewellery and remarkable early photography. It focuses on the period of Victoria and Albert’s marriage and challenges the popular image of the Queen – the melancholy widow of 40 years – revealing her as a passionate, open-minded young woman.
To celebrate this special exhibition, the Royal Collection has teamed up with the Royal Albert Hall to create a new day out for groups. Available between March and October, the visit starts at The Queen’s Gallery, where an exhibition talk gives a fascinating insight into Victoria and Albert’s passion for art. This is followed by a guided tour of the Royal Albert Hall, including a visit to the Queen’s Box.
A new combined visit to The Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews is also on offer to groups in 2010. Once described by Queen Victoria as ‘a small village which belongs to Buckingham Palace’, the Royal Mews is home to the historic coaches and carriages still used by the Royal Family on ceremonial occasions.
The Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace in 2010 includes the special exhibition The Queen’s Year. Giving visitors an insight into the principal events in the royal year, it will illustrate the pageantry and tradition of national and ceremonial occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament, the Garter Day ceremony at Windsor Castle, investitures, garden parties and State Visits.
Following a successful launch last year, guided private tours of Clarence House, the official residence of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, are again available during August. A late-afternoon tour of this beautiful residence is followed by a glass of champagne and a view of the enchanting garden.
Perennially popular with groups, a guided tour to the Great Kitchen at Windsor Castle offers a glimpse behind-the-scenes of this ancient royal residence. In constant use for 750 years, the Great Kitchen is where the royal chefs create spectacular State Banquets and prepare dishes for Easter Court, when The Queen is in residence at Windsor for a month.
Special-interest talks are available at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and focus on some of the many highlights of a visit, including ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ and ‘Great Tapestries’. The new exhibition Dutch Landscapes is at The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse from 30 April 2010 to 9 January 2011, and private talks and views can be booked throughout the year.
For further information, to receive a copy of the new Group Visits & Private Tours brochure or to make a booking, please visit www.royalcollection.org.uk or contact the Group and Specialist Sales team, 020 7766 7321, [email protected].
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