Discover the fascinating history of The King's Gallery. Originally opened as The Queen's Gallery in 1962, the gallery was the first part of Buckingham Palace to open to the public, causing huge excitement.
The gallery showcases highlights from the Royal Collection - one of the world's most important art collections, held in trust for the nation by His Majesty The King.
Explore how this gallery rose from the rubble of the Queen Victoria's private chapel, destroyed during World War Two, thanks to the vision of Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh and opening in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
Learn about the inaugural 1962 opening that sparked huge public excitement and queues around the block.
From exhibitions on the Old Masters, to Canaletto to decorative arts, The King's Gallery offers a revolving exhibition programme, with an aim to share the Royal Collection with the public. Hear insights from curators and see behind-the-scenes.
The gallery has been renamed in 2024 to The King's Gallery, in line with the reign of King Charles III.
Get an inside look at this unique London attraction and learn how its new £1 ticket initiative aims to make the Royal Collection even more accessible to all. Don't miss this chance to go behind the Palace walls.
The gallery was opened in 1962. It was the first part of Buckingham Palace ever to be
opened to the general public and as a result generated huge excitement. I'm always so happy
that we're able to share the Royal Collection like this. People can come and see the wonderful
breadth and depth of what is held in trust for the nation. In the 18th century this site was
a conservatory for George III and Queen Charlotte. That was demolished and Queen Victoria had a
chapel built on the site. In September 1940 at the height of the Blitz this part of the palace
site was the only part to suffer a direct hit from aerial bombing. There's a letter that survives
written by the wife of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, describing the site after the bomb.
It all happened so quickly that we had only time to look foolishly at each other
when the scream hurtled past us and exploded with a tremendous crash.
It flattened the chapel leaving a ruined part of the palace.
The derelict site was redeveloped into a gallery. Apparently it was the idea of the late Prince
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and is named after Queen Elizabeth II in whose reign it was originally
opened. It was opened in 1962. Great excitement. Apparently there were queues around the block.
It gives you a thrill to create an exhibition. The first one that inspired me was actually in
the old Queen's Gallery. Turned around the corner, entered the Red Room, and there was
the Canaletto exhibition of 1980 to 81. I thought this was an absolute wow.
We reopened in 2002 in time for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. Major works to convert what were
inner courtyards, outer courtyards, and create this wonderful space of three galleries.
And of course the gallery in London has its counterpart
in Edinburgh attached to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and that was opened in 2002.
The change of name from the Queen's Gallery to the King's Gallery
reflects the fact that we have a new king, King Charles III. Just as you would change the
coinage or stamps or indeed so many other details that come with that momentous event,
King Charles III was, as Prince of Wales, chairman of the Royal Collection Trust for many years and
he's now our patron and so is very much invested and very interested in the work of the Royal
Collection, sharing it with the public by opening the occupied royal palaces. The Royal Collection
is held in trust by the king for the nation and for his successors. It's not owned by him
as a private individual. The Royal Collection is one of the largest and most important art
collections in the world. It's one of the very few of the great European royal collections still to
survive intact. It's the richness of the Royal Collection that is so unique. It's sharing what
is this great formed collection. The King's Gallery is open to everybody, anyone who is interested in
looking at beautiful and thought-provoking objects. I think the King's Gallery is the place for you.
With the change of the name from the Queen's Gallery to the King's Gallery, we've recently
launched another initiative which is to have one pound tickets which are available to people on
Universal Credits and other benefits so that as many people as possible can actually find their
way to the King's Gallery. The aims of the Royal Collection Trust is to care for the collection
and to share it with the public. The Queen's Galleries in London that opened in the 1960s
and in Edinburgh that opened in 2002 are both now renamed the King's Galleries and they're
still showing a revolving exhibition programme open to everybody highlighting beautiful works
of art from the Royal Collection.
