Queen's Gallery
A small, focused venue that rotates masterpieces from the Royal Collection—one of the world’s great working collections, held in trust for the nation. Shows are tightly curated (Leonardo drawings one season, court portraits or Fabergé the next), with excellent audio that adds just enough context. Spaces are intimate, lighting is superb, and a ticket typically converts to a 1-Year Pass, making drop-in revisits easy. Expect 60–90 minutes per exhibition; combine with the Royal Mews or a palace garden stroll for a balanced day.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Seasonal Centerpiece
Blockbuster theme, compact scaleEach exhibition tells a single story well—Leonardo’s mind on paper, the Edwardians’ splendour, or courtly gift-giving across empires.
📍 Main enfilade upstairs
Drawing Cabinets
Intimate encounters with geniusRoyal Collection holdings include one of the largest groups of Leonardo drawings; when shown, you’re inches from his left-handed hatching.
📍 Works on paper rooms
Audio ‘Quick Takes’
Context without overloadShort tracks tie objects to people—the artist, a monarch, a diplomat—so provenance becomes a human story, not a label list.
📍 Throughout
Royal Collection Craft
From micro-mosaics to FabergéThe Gallery often spotlights virtuoso making—stone pictures the size of a postcard; enamel so fine it reads as paint.
📍 Object focus rooms (varies)
Shop & 1-Year Pass
Return value and research at homeMost tickets can be converted to a 1-Year Pass—useful because shows rotate. The catalogues are unusually scholarly for a small venue.
📍 Ground floor
Inspire your Friends
- The space began as a bomb-damaged palace chapel; it first opened as the Queen’s Gallery in 1962 and was expanded and reopened in 2002.
- Name change alert: with the accession of Charles III, it’s now officially The King’s Gallery—even regulars still slip and say ‘Queen’s’.
- The Royal Collection holds over 500 Leonardo da Vinci drawings—one of the largest groups anywhere—assembled by Charles II.
- Unlike many museum collections, these works aren’t the monarch’s private property; they’re held in trust for successors and the nation.
- Your ticket typically upgrades to a 1-Year Pass with a quick stamp—handy, because the Gallery refreshes its displays regularly.
