The Queen becomes the longest reigning Monarch in British history on 9th September, and the Royal Collection Trust is to mark the occasion with a special exhibition and some collectible chinaware.
Visitors to Windsor Castle, Holyroodhouse and Buckingham Palace will enjoy a special display of photography to mark the momentous occasion that is Her Majesty’s marking the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as the longest of any British monarch. The display is entitled ‘Long To Reign Over Us’.
One of Cecil Beaton’s Coronation portraits – his work will feature in the exhibition
The displays will be shown in the inner Quadrangle of the official residences, which are not usually on the visitor route of Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The outdoor displays celebrate The Queen’s reign with a number of iconic portraits, as well as some unseen images of Her Majesty, from 1952 to the present. Official portraits and photographs feature, as well as informal family moments.
Dorothy Wilding, Cecil Beaton and Julian Calder all feature, with the earliest image by Wilding in February 1952, just days after Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen. The most recent is from the procession of the Order of the Garter at Windsor in June.
Visitors will see the exhibition, which is included in the price of a standard admission ticket.
The exhibition will run from 9-27th September at Buckingham Palace, when the summer opening ends, until 5th January at Holyroodhouse, and until 28th January at Windsor, moving from the Quadrangle to Castle Hill and the North Terrace in early October.
Another way in which the Royal Collection Trust is celebrating is through a range of commemorative china, inspired by the design of the 1953 Coronation programme. An unnamed pottery in Stoke-on-Trent is creating the range, which includes a pillbox, plate, coffee mug and tray.
The tray from the collection
Prices begin at £29 and you can purchase them here.
A souvenir album illustrated with hundreds of photographs is also being published by Royal Collection Trust to celebrate, also entitled Long To Reign Over Us.
Photo: Library and Archives Canada (public domain) and Royal Collcetion Trust/Queen Elizabeth II 2015
