Russia, Royalty and the Romanovs
What
Museums & GalleriesWhen
31/01/2019 - 28/04/2019
Where
Queen's Gallery
The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
Readers Rating
9 Nov 2018–28 April 2019
Tickets:
Adults £12,
Under 17s £6
Under 5s free
Nicholas II, last Tsar of Russia, was first cousin of George V (and looked just like him). This stunning exhibition brings the close family relationship gloriously to life and it is truly child-friendly.
Pop into the family room on the left at the top of the stairs before you go into the exhibition proper and study the painting of The Family of Queen Victoria in 1887 by Laurits Regner Tuxen, helpfully annotated to show who was related to who. If you want to get into the mood, you can even don formal dressing up and take a photo of yourself in a regal-looking chair.
In the show itself, whiz past the room of (rather plain) Russian Emperors and Empresses and be dazzled by the tiaras and jewels, intricate Faberge flowers, fans, animals and of course the celebrated eggs. Watch out for the beautiful cigarette case, a diamond-encrusted serpent sliding through the brilliant lapis blue.
Paintings of a young Duchess of York (the Queen Mum) and even younger Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh by the Russian painter Savely Sorine are fresh and informal.
The Wedding of Nicholas II, also by Tuxen was commissioned by his aunt, Queen Victoria.
Most of all though this is an exhibition about a family. There are snapshots of the the two Royal families together in Cowes; a moving handwritten letter from the Tsar to 'My dearest Georgie...' just before his abdication and a diary entry of the British King after news of the Royal family's murder reached them.
A defining period in 20th century history leaps out of the pages of books and becomes a personal tragedy. Go!
There is also a fascinating photography exhibition Roger Fenton, Photographs of the Crimea running concurrently. Not so accessible for younger children but older kids with an interest in photography and/or who have studied Florence Nightingale should look into it.
9 Nov 2018–28 April 2019
Tickets:
Adults £12,
Under 17s £6
Under 5s free
Address:
The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
Venue phone:
7766 7300
How to get there:
Tuve to Victoria or Green Park
Venue website:
royalcollection.org.uk/visit/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace
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