Anna Reynolds

Lucy Peter

One of the world’s few remaining working palaces, Buckingham Palace has also been home throughout its history to many royal families. What might it be like to not just visit these beautiful and historic rooms, but live amid them and pass one’s childhood there? Published on the occasion of the annual summer opening of Buckingham Palace, Royal Childhood takes a look back at the pint-sized princes and princesses who have called the palace home. From the time of the palace's purchase as a comfortable family home by George III in 1761 to the recent happy birth of Prince George of Cambridge, the book covers all aspects of childhood, from playtime and hobbies to birthdays, school days, and public outings. Among the items used to illustrate these tales of royal childhood are many matchless treasures. But for every silver-gilt rattle and finely detailed christening gowns, there are also the childish stories written in notebooks, the birthday party menus and elaborately conceived cakes that will be familiar to any parent, and the well-loved toys that have been passed down from generation to generation. Drawing on paintings and photographs from the Royal Collection, the Royal Archives, and numerous royal toyboxes, Royal Childhood provides a fascinating look at what it’s like to grow up in a palace.

Royal Childhood

Amanda Foreman

Published to mark the bicentennial of Queen Victoria's birth, Fit for a Queen tells the story of how Queen Victoria transformed Buckingham Palace from a lavish bachelor pad to an iconic symbol of the monarchy, a rallying point for the nation, and a cherished family home. This delightful gift book accompanies the annual summer exhibition at Buckingham Palace and features many objects and paintings that illustrate how Queen Victoria came to the throne, the ceremony of her Coronation, and how she turned Buckingham Palace into a symbol of national solidarity. A charming and captivating book that offers fascinating insight into one of Britain's most famous and influential monarchs, Fit for a Queen takes readers on a tour through Victoria's palace home to show how it came to be a residence of Queens.

Queen Victoria's Buckingham Palace

Martin Clayton

The first exhibition to focus on images of artists from within the Royal Collection, 'Portrait of the Artist' not only show-cases self-portraits by world-renowned artists including Rembrandt, Rubens, Artemisia Gentileschi, Lucian Freud and David Hockney but also features images of artists by their friends, relatives and pupils, including the most reliable surviving likeness of Leonardo da Vinci by his student, Francesco Melzi. Well-known self-portraits intended to advertise the artist's talents will be shown alongside more intimate and personal works. The exhibition will examine a range of themes played out within these objects, from the 'cult' of the artist to the symbolism evoked through images of the artist's studio. The changing status of the artist over the centuries is another theme and the way in this is conveyed, both in the physical works and in the relationships between artist and patron will be highlighted. The role of monarchs in commissioning, collecting and displaying portraits of artists will also be discussed.

Lucy Peter

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