Caroline Brown, Assistant Curator of Works of Art (or Decorative Arts)

I am an Assistant Curator of Works of Art (or Decorative Arts) and work with a team of five people within the Royal Collection, based at St James’s Palace.

How did you get your job with the Royal Household?
I originally started working for the Royal Collection on the on-going inventory project, cataloguing works of art throughout the Royal residences – a role I heard about through one of my university tutors. I spent four years working on the project, and then left the Royal Household to work elsewhere. However, after three years, I returned to cover a maternity leave in the Royal Collection, and having worked in the Works of Art department in several different roles, I was promoted to Assistant Curator in 2006.

What did you do before joining the Royal Household?
After gaining a degree in History, I studied for a diploma in Art History. Working for the Royal Collection was my first full-time job.

What experience and qualifications do you need to work within the Royal Collection? Most Curators in the Royal Collection have a degree in History or History of Art, and some have gone on to further study. It helps to have worked to some extent with a museum collection but this is not vital; enthusiasm for the subject is more important. With the Royal Collection, it is, of course, particularly helpful to have some knowledge of the history of the monarchy.

What’s it like working for the Royal Household?
The Royal Household has always appeared to me to be a close-knit community and colleagues go out of their way to be helpful and friendly. As the department who care for the Royal Collection is comparatively small, everyone does have to work together closely and my colleagues are always very supportive.

Describe a typical day.
One of the best things about my job is that there is no such thing as typical day – I love the variety of it all. From day-to-day I might be involved in setting up an exhibition, or packing a work of art for loan to another museum, or giving a tour of the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace, or writing about the history of a piece of silver. I do get to travel frequently to Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and also occasionally to other Royal residences.

What is the best thing about your job?
One of the other things I love about my job is having access to one of the greatest art collections in the world.