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The Art of Monarchy
The Art of Monarchy

A collaboration with BBC Radio 4 to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Behind the Royal Image

In the first of the eight programmes, Will Gompertz looks at some of the most personal royal portraits in the Royal Collection and considers how important understanding and managing image has been to the Monarchy.

King George VI

Princess Elizabeth watches Charlotte the parrot, with Queen Mary, her brother Alexander Earl of Athlone, and Snip, the King's terrier

William Constable (1783-1861)

Prince Albert (1819-1861)

Lucas Horenbout (c. 1490/5-1544)

Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519-1536)

Samuel William Reynolds (1773-1835)

[George III]

Joseph Lee (1780-1859)

George III (1738-1820)

Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)

Queen Victoria (1819-1901)

Guido Mazzoni (d. 1518)

Henry VIII (1491-1547) when a young boy (?)

Johan Joseph Zoffany (Frankfurt 1733-London 1810)

Queen Charlotte (1744-1818) with her Two Eldest Sons

Philippe Mercier (1689-1760)

'The Music Party': Frederick, Prince of Wales with his Three Eldest Sisters

John Riley (1646-91)

Bridget Holmes (1591-1691)

Carl Haag (1820-1915)

Morning in the Highlands: The Royal Family ascending Lochnagar

Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1819-1901)

Sketches of the Royal Children by V.R. from 1841-1859

Unknown Person

Glass negative of a daguerreotype of Queen Victoria and the Princess Royal

Roger Fenton (1819-69)

Queen Victoria with her four eldest children
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The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.