21 May 2002: The Queen officially opens the redeveloped Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace

The Queen explored a special Jubilee exhibition when Her Majesty officially opened the redesigned public art gallery at Buckingham Palace. The Queen's Gallery, which houses permanent displays of items from the Royal Collection, will be a permanent legacy of The Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Built in classical style, the redesigned gallery has three times the space available to display changing exhibitions of items from the Royal Collection, which is held in trust by The Queen for the nation, plus additional educational and public facilities.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were met outside the building at midday by The Prince of Wales, who is Chairman of the Royal Collection Trust. The role of the Trust is to ensure that the Collection is conserved and displayed to the highest standards and that public understanding of and access to the Collection is increased through exhibition, publication, education and a programme of loans.

The Prince of Wales presented to The Queen Sir Hugh Roberts, Director of the Royal Collection, Mr. Christopher Lloyd, Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures, and the architect of the redeveloped building, Mr. John Simpson.

As The Queen entered the building, a fanfare sounded, and The Prince of Wales made a short speech. His Royal Highness remarked: "At last, this wonderful building will enable the Royal Collection to display to the wider public as never before the many treasures it holds for the nation."

The Queen then met members of the construction team who worked on the project, the Project Manager for the Royal Household property team, the President of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, Viscount Marchwood, and Mr. Alexander Stoddart, the Scottish sculptor who had created a new portrait bust of The Queen for the gallery.

The Queen, accompanied by The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Edinburgh, was guided through the gallery by the curators of the Royal Collection. Her Majesty toured the exhibition rooms. The inaugural exhibition - Treasures from the Royal Collection: A Golden Jubilee Celebration - features an eclectic range of items from across the enormous span of the Royal Collection, including paintings, furniture, porcelain, jewellery, books, sculpture, drawings and many other objects with fascinating Royal histories. There are 450 items on display.

In the Pennethorne Gallery, The Queen viewed the enormous Van Dyck portrait of her ancestor, Charles I, and a cabinet room containing the diamond diadem of George IV. This is familiar as the diadem which The Queen wears on UK stamps.

From the Nash and Chambers Galleries, The Queen moved into the education room. There Her Majesty spoke to schoolchildren working on a multi-media project. In the e-gallery The Queen met teachers working on computers with images of items from the Collection for study in close detail.

The final stop was the new shop, which sells a range of specially commissioned Jubilee merchandise. After speaking to staff, The Queen left the gallery, where Mr. Simpson, the architect, presented Her Majesty with the Gallery keys.

The new Queen's Gallery is now open to the public. The exhibition Royal Treasures: A Golden Jubilee Celebration will run until 12 January 2003. 
 

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