The King's Gallery, Buckingham Palace : The history of the gallery showcasing the Royal Collection

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.

[@popcult]

I can’t wait to visit the King’s Gallery’s during my next trip to London. The curators always manage to put on a unique exhibition that is guaranteed to be one of the highlights of my travels.

[@RoyalCollectionTrust]

We look forward to seeing you soon!

[@barbaram5214]

Very interesting. I would like to see the current Portraits exhibit but I won’t be visiting London until December. Hopefully there will be another interesting exhibit on view.

[@RoyalCollectionTrust]

Yes, our next exhibition is Drawing the Italian Renaissance, this opens in November so will be on when you visit in December. More information is here: www.rct.uk/collection/exhibitions/drawing-the-italian-renaissance/the-kings-gallery-buckingham-palace

[@lindylou7853]

But it didn’t survive intact … Charles 1 was a tremendous collector of paintings and other artefacts. Cromwell flogged off as much as he could …

[@michaelmontagu3979]

Quite a lot has gone back to the collection over the years. After the restoration in 1660, many loyal supporters returned what they had bought. Subsequent monarchs have bought back what they could. Sadly though, many of the great paintings are in European collections.