Curator Kathryn Jones said: ‘The Edwardian era is seen as a golden age of style and glamour, which indeed it was, but there is so much more to discover beneath the surface. This was a period of transition, with Britain poised on the brink of the modern age and Europe edging towards war. Our royal couples lived lavish, sociable, fast-paced lives, embracing new trends and technologies. Yet in their collecting we also see a need to retain tradition and record the rapidly changing world around them, as if to preserve a fading way of life. The outbreak of World War I shattered their world, marking the end of an age and forever changing the face of monarchy.’

In 1863, Queen Victoria’s eldest son Albert Edward married Princess Alexandra of Denmark, in the first royal wedding to take place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. The marriage of the fashionable young couple – the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra – ushered in a glamorous new era for the royal family. They established their own vibrant court, filled with contemporary art, opulent balls and society events – a lifestyle later continued by their son, the future King George V, and his wife Queen Mary. 

The two couples were famous for their style, with Alexandra named by Vogue as ‘the legitimate head of fashion throughout the British dominions’. Visitors will see examples of Alexandra and Mary’s dazzling jewellery – including Alexandra’s Dagmar necklace, and Mary’s ‘Love Trophy’ Collar necklace, on display for the first time. 

Displays will evoke the fashionably cluttered interiors of the royal couples’ private residences at Marlborough House and Sandringham House. Examples will include a Cartier crystal pencil case, on show for the first time, and more than 20 items by the Russian jeweller Fabergé, including a blue enamel cigarette case featuring a diamond-encrusted snake biting its own tail. 

Edward and Alexandra, and later George and Mary, surrounded themselves with fashionable society figures – known as the ‘Marlborough House Set’ – and their lives were full of garden parties, concerts, sporting events and costume balls. Visitors will see souvenirs and mementos from these events, including a never-before-seen photograph of Edward in fancy-dress as a knight of the Order of Malta.

All four figures collected works by the great contemporary artists of the period. Visitors will see highlights from their private collections, including a previously unseen study of Sleeping Beauty by the Pre-Raphaelite artist Sir Edward Burne-Jones and luminous portraits by Frederic Leighton and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema – both artistic advisors and friends to Edward and Alexandra. Charles Baugniet’s After the Ball, on show for the first time in over a century, captures the elegance and exuberance of the era, with a society beauty asleep on the sofa, still dressed in her ballgown.

Passionate patrons of the arts, the Edwardians enthusiastically explored new artistic movements such as Aestheticism, Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts. This is reflected in their collections, which include a copy of Oscar Wilde's Poems, personally inscribed by the author, and an early edition of the first book printed by William Morris's Kelmscott Press. 

The royal family also embraced the new medium of photography, both as an art form and to capture the world around them. Visitors will see works by famed photographers of the era, including the pioneering female photographers Mary Steen and Alice Hughes – as well as photographs taken by Alexandra, using portable Kodak cameras to capture official events and family moments.

Edward, Alexandra, George and Mary travelled further than any royals before them, collecting objects, receiving gifts, and employing tour artists and photographers, as well as capturing their own memories, and visitors will see items from their travels on five continents.

Four years into George V’s reign, war broke out, and the glitz and glamour of the Edwardian age came to an abrupt end. The royal family collected works that recorded and honoured the sacrifices made by so many during the ‘Great War’ and its aftermath – including haunting wartime landscapes by Olive Edis, Britain’s first official female war photographer, and Frank O. Salisbury’s painting showing the unveiling of the Cenotaph on 11 November 1920. By the end of the conflict, a more restrained and dutiful monarchy had emerged: a monarchy shaped for the 20th century.   

The Edwardians: Age of Elegance is at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from 11 April to 23 November 2025.