BBC Radio 4: Stories from the Royal Collection

In this 30-minute programme on BBC Radio 4, 'Stories from the Royal Collection', Dr Amanda Foreman visits Windsor Castle and explores some of the extraordinary stories behind works of art in the Royal Collection through documentary material from the Royal Archives.

She discovers how Charles II attempted to reinstate the great losses to his father’s unparalleled art collection, and in the Print Room is shown satirical prints by Thomas Rowlandson of the future George IV, and hears how the King secretly sent an eminent violinist (who later would become Master of Music to the King) to buy up complete print runs and original plates to try to stifle criticism.

Dr Foreman also examines Queen Victoria’s notebook, which contains details of her first State Visit to meet Napoleon III in France, and discovers the role of Prince Albert in motivating the minds behind the Great Exhibition of 1851, the world's first fair of arts, crafts and manufacturing.