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A woodcut showing the Emperor Maximilian in a triumphal chariot.
This large woodcut, over 2 metres in length, was originally planned as part of a huge printed frieze. The work, undertaken by a team of designers and woodblock cutters, was to show a triumph
Highlights from the print collection

An introduction to the print collection of the Royal Collection

Old Master prints

Trapezium horse conch (Pleuroploca trapezium L.)©

The Royal Collection is not particularly strong in the works of the master European printmakers, and there has never been a sustained attempt to assemble a comprehensive collection in this field. Nonetheless, a few individual printmakers (mainly English, such as William Hogarth, or with predominantly English careers, such as Wenceslaus Hollar) have been collected over a prolonged period with the aim of forming complete collections of their works; and the purchase en bloc of major collections by earlier monarchs, such as those of Consul Joseph Smith and Cardinal Alessandro Albani by George III, both in 1762, resulted in the almost accidental acquisition of significant groups of Italian, French and German old master prints.

In addition there are around 400 miscellaneous German, Dutch and Flemish prints and 700 Italian engravings loose in portfolios, and many fine early prints from the collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo and in the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection.


The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.