Prince & Patron

To mark the 70th birthday of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales this year, visitors to the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace will enjoy a special display featuring a number of works of art personally selected by His Royal Highness.

The Prince has enjoyed a life-long passion for art, inspired by the treasures in the Royal Collection. In the display, The Prince's favourite art works will be shown alongside works created by young artists supported by three charities which he has founded and is patron of: The Royal Drawing School and The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts.

The inspiration that His Royal Highness has found in art is reflected in Johan Joseph Zoffany’s painting, The Tribuna of the Uffizi, commissioned by Queen Charlotte in 1772, where travellers to Italy can be seen admiring some of the most famous, precious and exotic works of art in the Uffizi, Florence. Travel and history are two further interests of The Prince, highlighted by the selection of the cloak of Napoleon Bonaparte, made of wool, silk and silver thread, taken from Napoleon's carriage immediately after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and later presented to the future George IV. The colour, pattern and story of the cloak have fascinated His Royal Highness since first seeing the object on display at Windsor Castle.