The Royal Collection is the art collection of the British Royal Family and one of the largest and most important art collections in the world, spread among some thirteen Royal residences and former residences across the UK. It is the property of the monarch as sovereign, but held in trust for her successors and the nation.
It contains over 7,000 paintings, 40,000 watercolours and drawings, and about 150,000 old master prints, as well as historical photographs, tapestries, furniture, ceramics, books, and other works of art. It is physically dispersed between a number of locations; some, like Hampton Court Palace, are open to the public and not lived in by the Royal Family, whilst others, like Windsor Castle, are both residences and open to the public. Some are in residences, like Sandringham which are not open to the public. The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace in London exists to show displays and exhibitions from the collection for several months at a time. There is also a Queen's Gallery next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
The collection's total value has been estimated at over £10 billion. However, other sources have estimated the Collection to be too priceless to value.
Read more about Royal Collection: History, Marlborough House Workshops, Management, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words royal and/or collection:
“Vanessa wanted to be a ballerina. Dad had such hopes for her.... Corin was the academically brilliant one, and a fencer of Olympic standard. Everything was expected of them, and they fulfilled all expectations. But I was the one of whom nothing was expected. I remember a game the three of us played. Vanessa was the President of the United States, Corin was the British Prime Minister—and I was the royal dog.”
—Lynn Redgrave (b. 1943)
“Only the history of free peoples is worth our attention; the history of men under a despotism is merely a collection of anecdotes.”
—Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort (1741–1794)