In celebration of The Queen's historic Platinum Jubilee, three special displays marking significant occasions in Her Majesty’s reign – the Accession, the Coronation and Jubilees – will be staged at the official royal residences in 2022.

In addition, two new exhibitions – Japan: Courts and Culture at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace and Masterpieces from Buckingham Palace at The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse – will showcase some of the finest works in the Royal Collection.  The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, where historic carriages still used for royal occasions are on display, will open to the public for the first time since the autumn of 2020.

At the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, portraits of The Queen taken by Dorothy Wilding will be on display, alongside items of Her Majesty’s personal jewellery worn for the portrait sittings. 

Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne on 6 February 1952.  Twenty days later, the first official photographic sitting with the new Queen was granted to the photographer Dorothy Wilding.  In 1937 Wilding had become the first official female royal photographer when she was appointed to take the portraits at the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.  The series of photographs taken of The Queen in 1952 are remarkable for their modern, emblematic approach and formed the basis of The Queen's image on postage stamps from 1953 until 1971, as well as providing the official portrait of Her Majesty which was sent to every British embassy throughout the world.  

Included in the Buckingham Palace display will be The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, which was a wedding gift to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck, later Queen Mary, on the occasion of her marriage to the future King George V in 1893.  The diamond tiara was made by E. Wolff & Co for R & S. Garrard in a scrolled and pierced foliate form.  Queen Mary gave the tiara to her granddaughter, Princess Elizabeth, as a wedding present on the occasion of her marriage to Prince Philip on 20 November 1947.

At Windsor Castle, the Coronation Dress and Robe of Estate worn by The Queen for her Coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953 will be on display.  Designed by the British couturier Sir Norman Hartnell, the dress was created in the finest white duchesse satin, richly embroidered in a lattice-work effect with an iconographic scheme of national and Commonwealth floral emblems in gold and silver thread and pastel-coloured silks, encrusted with seed pearls, sequins and crystals.  

Her Majesty’s Robe of Estate was made by the royal robe-makers Ede and Ravenscroft of purple silk velvet woven by the firm of Warner & Sons, and was embroidered at the Royal School of Needlework. The goldwork embroidery design features wheat ears and olive branches, symbolising prosperity and peace, surrounding the crowned intertwined EIIR cipher.  It took 12 embroideresses, using 18 different types of gold thread, more than 3,500 hours to complete the work between March and May 1953.  

At the Palace of Holyroodhouse, visitors will see a display of outfits worn by Her Majesty on occasions to celebrate the Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees.  In 1977 for The Queen’s Silver Jubilee, the royal couturier Sir Hardy Amies designed a striking ensemble of dress, coat and stole in pink silk crepe and chiffon with a matching hat designed by Simone Mirman with flowerheads hanging from silk stems.  The ensemble was worn at the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on 7 June 1977 marking the 25th anniversary of The Queen’s Accession.

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2022 Exhibitions Programme

The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

Japan: Courts and Culture                                                  8 April 2022 – 12 March 2023

The Royal Collection holds some of the most significant examples of Japanese art and design in the western world.  For the first time, highlights from this outstanding collection will be brought together in a major new exhibition to tell the story of more than 350 years of diplomatic, artistic and cultural exchange between the British and Japanese royal and imperial families.  The exhibition will include rare pieces of porcelain and lacquer, samurai armour, woodcut prints, embroidered screens and diplomatic gifts from the reigns of James I to Her Majesty The Queen.  Together, they offer a unique insight into the worlds of ritual, honour and artistry linking the courts and cultures of Britain and Japan.

The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse

Masterpieces from Buckingham Palace                             25 March – 25 September 2022

This exhibition will bring together more than 30 of the most important Old Master paintings in the Royal Collection that usually hang in the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. Visitors will be invited to admire the works up-close and to consider why they deserve to be described as ‘masterpieces’.  Artists represented include Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rubens, Artemisia Gentileschi and Claude.

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Royal Collection Trust touring exhibitions

Young Gainsborough: Rediscovered Landscape Drawings

National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin                                               5 March – 12 June 2022

Nottingham Castle, Nottingham                                                  2 July – 25 September 2022

Twenty-five landscape drawings reattributed to Thomas Gainsborough, on display for the first time, offer an intimate glimpse into the early career of one of Britain’s best-loved artists.  The exhibition will consider the formative influence of 17^th-century Dutch landscape painting on Gainsborough, as well as his drawing practice and use of materials.  One of Gainsborough’s best-known masterpieces, Cornard Wood, loaned by The National Gallery, London, will be united with its preparatory drawing for the first time since they were last together in the artist’s studio.  The beauty and immediacy of these rediscovered drawings are testament to Gainsborough’s innate talent and his enduring love of landscape.

https://www.nationalgallery.ie/

https://www.nottinghamcastle.org.uk/

Ends

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For further information, please contact the Royal Collection Trust Press Office, +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected]. Images are available to download from WeTransfer

Platinum Jubliee: The Queen’s Accession will be at the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace from Friday, 22 July to Sunday, 2 October 2022.

Platinum Jubliee: The Queen’s Coronation will be at Windsor Castle from Thursday, 7 July to Monday, 26 September 2022.

The Platinum Jubilee display at the Palace of Holyroodhouse will be from July to September 2022. (Dates will be confirmed in due course.)

Each display is included in the price of a general admission ticket.  Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse are open to visitors Thursday to Monday, remaining closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For advance tickets and visitor information: www.rct.uk, T. +44 (0)303 123 7300.

The Royal Mews will open from Thursday, 19 May to Sunday, 2 October 2022.

Visitor information and tickets for The Queen's Galleries and the Royal Mews: www.rct.uk, T. +44 (0)30 3123 7301. The Queen’s Galleries and the Royal Mews will open Thursday to Monday, remaining closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.