Their Majesties visit The King’s Tour Artists exhibition as Buckingham Palace opens for the summer

More than 70 works of art from His Majesty The King’s private collection, many of which have never been on public display, will go on show from tomorrow (Thursday, 10 July) in the special exhibition The King’s Tour Artists, as the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace open to visitors for the summer.  

As well as the exhibition in the Ballroom, visitors to the Palace this summer will see the recently unveiled Coronation State Portraits of Their Majesties The King and Queen, newly installed in the Throne Room.

The King’s Tour Artists exhibition – which is included with a ticket to the Palace – and the accompanying book, The Art of Royal Travel: Journeys with The King, celebrate the 40th anniversary of His Majesty’s Tour Artists initiative. Today, Their Majesties The King and Queen have toured the exhibition during a reception to mark the anniversary, joined by more than 30 of the artists who have travelled with them over four decades.

Since 1985, The King has invited a series of artists, at his own expense, to join him on royal overseas tours, with a brief to draw, paint or sculpt whatever inspired them. Reflecting His Majesty’s enduring support for the arts, the initiative has provided both established and emerging artists with a prestigious commission and a chance to create work in response to diverse cultures and landscapes around the world. 

Chosen from a selection handpicked by The King from his own collection, the works on display in the Palace’s Ballroom represent 43 artists, who collectively have visited 95 countries and regions during 70 tours. Together, they offer a unique insight into life on a royal tour, capturing the tone, colours and atmosphere with a vibrancy that brings each destination to life. The accompanying book further explores this special royal tradition through a series of behind-the-scenes anecdotes and reflections from the artists, alongside more than 100 illustrations.

Visitors to the exhibition will see both the earliest and most recent works created by            The King’s tour artists, both produced in Italy. The earliest is From the Afterdeck of HMY Britannia by John Ward, the inaugural tour artist. Ward’s painting is shown alongside a depiction of the same scene painted by His Majesty, who on earlier tours would often find time amidst his busy schedule to sit and paint alongside the artists. 

In April 2025, Fraser Scarfe became the first tour artist to create digital artwork on an iPad, when he joined Their Majesties’ State Visit to Italy. Visitors will see his work Basilica of San Vitale, on show for the first time, in which he was able to capture the full range of colours found in the Ravenna church’s famous mosaics while only needing to carry a small device.

John Ward’s son Toby Ward followed in his father’s footsteps, joining His Majesty on a tour of the Gulf States in 1993. On display in addition to one of his sketchbooks is a new work that he has created specially to celebrate the 2025 anniversary: an illustrated map of the world depicting scenes captured by the tour artists over the decades. This watercolour also features as the endpapers in the book The Art of Royal Travel: Journeys with The King. 

On display for the first time is a pair of portraits of The King and Queen when Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, painted by James Hart Dyke following a tour to the Gulf States in 2007. Visitors will also see Hart Dyke’s colourful painting of prayer flags at the Taktsang monastery, captured during a 1998 tour to Bhutan. The artist painted the flags while sitting alongside the then Prince of Wales, the pair having trekked up 1,500 feet (457 m) to paint together at the famed cliffside monastery, also known as the Tiger’s Nest.

Further highlights include a drawing by Claudette Johnson made after the first official royal visit to Rwanda in 2022; Peter Kuhfeld’s peaceful depiction of a Japanese tea-ceremony room, made during a trip to Japan for the enthronement of Emperor Akihito in 1990; and Michael J. Austin’s striking head study of a man he encountered in Rajasthan during the 2003 tour to India and Oman. A terracotta head by the only sculptor ever to have been chosen as a tour artist, Marcus Cornish, is a powerful depiction of a war veteran met by the royal party during a visit to Slovakia in 2000. 

In the Palace’s Throne Room, visitors will be among the first to see the recently installed Coronation State Portraits of Their Majesties The King and Queen in their permanent home, following their initial month-long display at the National Gallery. Painted by Peter Kuhfeld and Paul S Benney respectively, the portraits join an important tradition of Coronation State Portraits dating back many centuries, with historic examples including the State Portraits of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and George III also on display. 

A visit to the State Rooms can be combined with a Garden Highlights Tour, which incorporates areas of the Garden not usually seen by the public, including the Herbaceous Border, the Summer House, the Rose Garden, the Waterloo Vase and the Palace tennis court. In addition, almost 9,000 people will add a tour of the Palace’s iconic front wing to their State Rooms visit this summer, as part of the sold-out series of East Wing Highlights Tours, first launched in 2024 and expanded for 2025. 

A Royal Day Out ticket provides discounted admission to all three venues at Buckingham Palace: the State Rooms, the Royal Mews, and The King’s Gallery, where visitors can immerse themselves in the opulence and glamour of the Edwardian era in the major exhibition The Edwardians: Age of Elegance.

A range of concessions is available for the summer opening of Buckingham Palace, including a Young Person (18–24) discount and half-price entry for children (5–17), while under-fives go free. Visitors who purchase their tickets directly from Royal Collection Trust can convert them into a 1-Year Pass, offering free re-admission for a year. The income from ticket purchases contributes to the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come.  

Ends

IMAGES AND FOOTAGE 

Images of Their Majesties visiting the exhibition today will be available via the Royal Rota including PA Images. Footage will also be available via the Royal Rota.

Images of works in the exhibition are available to download from Dropbox. Please see the attached contact sheet for captions and credit lines. Images are for one-time use only and are not to be archived, sold on or used out of context. 

Images of curators making final adjustments to the exhibition are available now via PA Images and in the above Dropbox folder. 

Photographs of The King, when Prince of Wales, painting in Bhutan in 1998 are available via PA Images (image references: PA 1078693, 1077118 and 1078694). 

Photographs of Fraser Scarfe during the 2025 State Visit to Italy are available via PA Images (image references: PA 79734617, 79734618, 79734619 and 79734690). 

The King’s Tour Artists exhibition is included as part of a visit to the summer opening of Buckingham Palace, 10 July – 28 September 2025. 

Tickets are available now: www.rct.uk, +44 (0)303 123 7300. The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace are open to visitors for seven days a week in July and August, and five days a week in September (Thursday to Monday, remaining closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). 

The Art of Royal Travel: Journeys with The King, conceived and edited by The Earl of Rosslyn and written and edited by Theresa-Mary Morton and Helen Rosslyn, is published by Modern Art Press in association with Royal Collection Trust. Featuring 100 illustrations and personal reflections from the artists, it provides a fascinating insight into the unique experience of life on a royal tour. It is available now at £25.00 from Royal Collection Trust shops and royalcollectionshop.co.uk, from Modern Art Press (modernartpress.co.uk) and Yale University Press (yalebooks.co.uk).

For further information, please contact the Royal Collection Trust Press Office, +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected].

Instagram: @royalcollectiontrust Facebook: @royalcollectiontrust X: @RCT

Notes to Editors

The exhibition The King’s Tour Artists and the accompanying book The Art of Royal Travel: Journeys with The King were conceived by The Earl of Rosslyn, Lord Steward and Personal Secretary to The King and Queen, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of His Majesty’s Tour Artists initiative.

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.