Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style exhibition extended by six months due to unprecedented demand

The landmark centenary exhibition Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace will be extended by six months due to popular demand, allowing hundreds of thousands more visitors to enjoy the largest exhibition of the late Queen’s fashion ever staged. 

Originally scheduled to close on 18 October 2026, the exhibition will now run until 18 April 2027, with tickets available now at www.rct.uk/queenelizabeth. 

The exhibition – which will be the most visited exhibition in Royal Collection Trust’s history – sold out within weeks of opening. The extension offers a renewed opportunity for audiences to experience this acclaimed show, which traces the evolution of the late Queen’s world-famous style through more than 300 items drawn from her personal fashion archive, now part of the Royal Collection.

Tim Knox, Director of the Royal Collection, said, ‘The response to this exhibition has been unprecedented. We are delighted to extend its run, ensuring that even more people from across the UK and around the world will have the chance to experience this once-in-a-generation tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s life and legacy, in line with our charitable aim to share the Royal Collection as widely as possible.’

Due to ongoing high demand, visitors are encouraged to book tickets well in advance. For those unable to visit in person, the official centenary publication Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style offers an unparalleled look inside the late Queen’s fashion archive and is complemented by a programme of live online lectures and in-depth films that take audiences behind the scenes.  Reflecting the exhibition’s strong reception, both the book and accompanying centenary retail ranges have also proven extremely popular, with the publication being re-printed due to popular demand.

In Edinburgh, the private apartments used by Queen Elizabeth II when in residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the official residence of the monarch in Scotland – opened to visitors for the first time this week in celebration of the centenary. Available only this year, the tours will run for 100 days and will see small groups taken behind the scenes by expert guides to discover the history of the rooms and learn how they were used by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during her 70-year reign. Tickets are available now at www.rct.uk/apartments-tour. 

Ends

A selection of images is available via Dropbox. B-roll footage of the exhibition is available here (password: R0y@lQE2RCT) and via agencies. For further information and images, please contact the Press Office: +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected].

Listings information

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style is at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace until 18 April 2027. Visitor information and tickets for The King's Gallery, Buckingham Palace: www.rct.uk, T. +44 (0)30 3123 7301. The King’s Gallery is open seven days a week for the duration of the exhibition.

Queen Elizabeth II Private Apartment Tours, available only in 2026, will run daily for 100 days from Thursday, 21 May to 10 September 2026. Images are available to download via Dropbox.

Live online lectures will see the exhibition’s curator Caroline de Guitaut, Surveyor of The King’s Works of Art, sharing her insights into the creation of two of the most famous and expertly crafted garments of the 20th century:

• Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Dress – Tuesday, 2 June, 19:00–20:00 BST.

• Queen Elizabeth II's Wedding Dress – Tuesday, 17 November, 19:00–20:00 GMT.

Tickets for Royal Collection Trust’s digital programme operate on a 'pay what you can' donation model.

The official centenary publication Queen Elizabeth II: Fashion and Style by Caroline de Guitaut is available now at £40.00 from Royal Collection Trust Shops, www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk and all good bookshops. Further details and images available here. 

Centenary retail ranges – including Royal Warrant Holder collaborations, commemorative chinaware and exhibition souvenirs – are available from www.royalcollectionshop.co.uk and in Royal Collection Trust Shops in London, Windsor and Edinburgh. Further details and images available here.

Instagram and Facebook: @royalcollectiontrust. X: @RCT.

Notes to Editors 

Royal Collection Trust is a charity caring for the Royal Collection and welcoming visitors to the royal palaces. We bring our shared history to life through world-class experiences that involve and inspire people, wherever they are. Income from tickets and retail sales helps us to conserve the Collection so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come. 

The Royal Collection is one of the world’s great art collections, held in trust by The King for his successors and the nation. With over a million objects, from paintings, drawings and books to sculpture, furniture and jewellery, it is a unique record of the tastes of British kings and queens over the past 500 years, with many items still used today for their original purpose. The Collection can be seen in palaces, museums and galleries across the UK and around the world, and can be explored online at www.rct.uk.