Queen's Gallery Reviews (London, England)

Amazing Art and Tacky Gifts

Portland, Connecticut

May 4, 2013

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Best of IgoUgo Our first full day in London was dedicated to visiting the palaces. By that I mean Buckingham and Kensington. Actually, if you are familiar with London at all you know that Buckingham Palace is not open for tours in January but the Queens Gallery is ...Read more Our first full day in London was dedicated to visiting the palaces. By that I mean Buckingham and Kensington. Actually, if you are familiar with London at all you know that Buckingham Palace is not open for tours in January but the Queens Gallery is open. This was where we began our day. Part of our deal at the hotel was that we received a bus/subway pass. Since my knee was in pretty bad shape, we opted for the bus and it dropped us off just a couple of blocks from the museum.

I have to vent a little here. I have been coming to the Queens Gallery for years and the store has always been a favorite of mine. I was shocked and dismayed to see that her majesty has now climbed on the tacky tourist band wagon with a vengeance. My gosh, it is one thing to have candy and nuts with the royal emblem on them but now it is aprons, underwear and every tacky thing that you can imagine. I remember when Princess Diana’s step mother Raine was adding tacky gifts to the Althrop gift shop, all the uproar that ensued. Move over Raine, her majesty has decided to follow your example! Money must be in pretty short supply to result in this level of junk, for the first time ever I bought absolutely nothing.

Having said that, her Majesty’s art collection is one of the finest in the world and we never tire of getting to see pieces of her art on display. What brought us here at this time was the exhibit The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein. This exhibit is now closed but it was outstanding as usual and we thoroughly enjoyed both the works of art and the way that they are presented.

There are new exhibits all the time and a visit to the gallery website at http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/ will tell you exactly what is on display and also give you all the useful information you need about visiting here and the cost of entrance. The standard entrance is 9.5 British Pounds with discounts for seniors, students and children. Be aware that once you buy your ticket it is good for a year and if you return within that time you get free entrance. You can also buy a combination ticket that includes the Mews and when the tour of Buckingham Palace is offered, all three attractions.
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From journal London January 2013

A new appreciation for Victoria and Albert

by artslover

Calgary, Alberta

October 8, 2010

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We bought our tickets online the day we decided to visit the Gallery. The website tells you that there are some tickets available to buy in person but recommends you purchase ahead of time to ensure you can get in when you want. It was good advice. ...Read more

From journal London attractions

A Royal Attraction

by eilidhcatriona

London, United Kingdom

July 21, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo After two and a half years of living in London, I finally got round to visiting an exhibition at the Queens Gallery. I’ve wanted to go for ages, and fancied the one at Holyroodhouse as well, but whenever I was there with my mum we didn’t fancy the ...Read more After two and a half years of living in London, I finally got round to visiting an exhibition at the Queens Gallery. I’ve wanted to go for ages, and fancied the one at Holyroodhouse as well, but whenever I was there with my mum we didn’t fancy the exhibition that was on, and every time she’s visited me in London we didn’t fancy the one here.

The Queens Gallery is located at Buckingham Palace, or as I mention there is also one in Edinburgh. It runs several exhibitions through the year, often showcasing items from the Royal Collection. In 2007 they also had exhibitions celebrating the Queen and Prince Philipp’s wedding anniversary. Entry to the Gallery is £8.50 for adults. As my dad chose not to visit, and I got in free as I was pushing my mum’s wheelchair, so it only cost us £8.50.

It’s not very cool these days, but I like the royal family. I love the history, the splendour and having met the Queen (not that I’m showing off or anything...) I think she’s lovely. She reminded me of my gran and was so nice to everyone she spoke to. I even worked for her once, as a waitress at her Golden Jubilee garden party at Balmoral. I love the jewels and treasures of royalty, and have a great interest in European royalty of the 19th-20th centuries.

At the time of our visit, earlier this month, the Queen’s Gallery was showing two exhibitions – Treasures of the Royal Collection and French Porcelain for English Palaces: Sèvres from the Royal Collection. We were particularly keen on the Treasures exhibition, which promised a wide variety of objects including paintings, furniture, armour, porcelain and sculpture, but most exciting, jewels and work by Fabergé. My mum once saw a whole exhibition of Fabergé at the Gallery in Edinburgh, but I haven’t seen any, and anyway, you can never have too much Fabergé, so we were very excited! We were interested in the Sèvres exhibition too, but we wouldn’t have gone just for that. The entrance prices covered both exhibitions.

We paid our entry and went to the entrance. There are metal detectors and you have to empty your pockets. The Gallery is attached to the Palace, and the staff are employees of the Royal Family, so security is understandably tight. Once we were through we were pointed towards the lift. Before we went upstairs to the exhibitions (located on the first floor) we visited the toilets, which as you would expect were very clean and well maintained.

On reaching the exhibition floor we were offered an audio guide, but as my mum is a walking (or wheeling on certain days) guide to the history of the British Monarchy, we declined. There were useful information signs next to each item telling us when they dated from, who had acquired them into the Collection, and a little bit of information about the item itself. All the walls were lined with paintings, and there was a lot of furniture, porcelain and sculpture to see in the larger rooms. The jewels, miniatures and Fabergé were in smaller, darkened rooms to the side, with some excellent lighting in the display cases. Obviously, the sparkly things were the most popular, and it was very difficult to take the wheelchair into these very small rooms, so we parked it outside and my mum walked in – this was not a problem for her, but for those who are wheelchair bound it would require more understanding and accommodating from other visitors.

I won’t go into too much detail on the items we saw, because obviously the exhibitions change so this is not strictly a review of the exhibitions. However, I would like to mention my highlights. There was a large selection of Fabergé on display, including one of the famous Easter Eggs purchased by Tsar Nicolas II for his wife Alexandra – I am very interested in the history of the Tsars, so to see this was special. Also on display were two of the famous Cullinan diamonds, Cullinan II and Cullinan IV. You can look these up online, they really are quite spectacular. I was also pleasantly surprised by the Sèvres collection. It is very recognisable, but it is very pretty with beautiful colours. There was some interesting information on each collection, and on how long it takes to make.

I think we spent around an hour and a half looking at everything in the two exhibitions. The website says to allow an hour to an hour and a half, but I will say that we didn’t read every single information board, so if you are particularly keen on everything in an exhibition, you can probably expect to take longer.

Once we exited the exhibition, we went for a look round the shop. Having visited Holyroodhouse a few times, I knew what to expect from the shop and I wasn’t disappointed. Prices are steep but there are a lot of lovely items. You can get the usual souvenirs, keyrings and t-shirts, but they all appear to be very good quality. There are also toiletries, china and jewellery, all inspired by the Palaces or the Royal Collection. Every time I visit one of these shops I want to buy some china, they have some lovely ranges which aren’t all obviously covered in the Coat of Arms, but I can’t justify the cost (upwards of £30 for a cup and saucer). I did once find myself a bargain in the Edinburgh shop however – having visited the Royal Yacht Britannia the day before I was delighted to find a book on the yachts design and life for only £5. And it was an excellent read too.

One drawback to note – there is no cafe. During the summer when the Palace has its State Opening (end July to end September), there is a refreshments tent available, but it does not sound like this sells much, just snacks and drinks. As we visited prior to the State Opening this year, I can’t even tell you if this tent is accessible to those only visiting the Gallery. So my advice would be, take into account the fact there is no cafe!

The staff at the Gallery were lovely, they were discreet but incredibly friendly and helpful. They treated all the visitors with courtesy and respect, and treated my mum in her wheelchair like royalty.

Obviously, the decision to visit the Gallery may rest on the exhibition(s) which are on at the given time, but in general I would strongly recommend a visit. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves there, and will definitely be keeping an eye on future exhibitions.
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Amazing Art and Tacky Gifts

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A Royal Attraction

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Amazing Art and Tacky Gifts

A new appreciation for Victoria and Albert

A Royal Attraction