An intimate exhibition exploring the Royal Family’s relationship with the camera
Discover Life Through a Royal Lens, Hillsborough Castle’s first ever exhibition featuring a unique collection of Royal photography and running for five months only. This must-see exhibition documents the British Royal Family's ever-evolving relationship with the camera over the last 200 years.
Never before seen in Northern Ireland, Life Through a Royal Lens brings together over 60 of the most iconic images ever taken of the Royal Family, dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria.
See images from notable photographers like Rankin, Cecil Beaton and Annie Leibovitz, and learn about the history and stories behind each image. View some of the personal and lesser-known family portraits for an intimate window into the people behind the public figureheads.
Don’t miss this critically acclaimed photography exhibition at Hillsborough Castle.
Header image: Queen Elizabeth II holding a Leica camera about to take a photograph while attending the Royal Windsor Horse show in 1982. © Bob Thomas / Popperfoto via Getty Images
Royal Life Behind the Scenes
For centuries, majestic portraits and physical replicas ensured the public could recognise their monarch. This depiction was revolutionised in the 19th century with the invention of photography, revealing the true likeness of the monarchy to the public for the first time.
This exhibition explores how photography has been used to create an image of duty and stability throughout the centuries, and how advances in technology and media have allowed the Royal Family to connect at a more personal level with a wider global audience. The choice of photographer, photo composition, clothing, and environment throughout the photo series also provides insightful cultural commentary on the social climate at the time each photo was taken.
Image: Queen Victoria with the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales, Princess Alice, Princess Helena and Prince Alfred 17 January 1852. The children are gathered in a group around Queen Victoria, whose face has been scratched out. Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023
Exhibition highlights
The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George in 2013.
Photo by Michael Middleton
Princess Elizabeth arrives in Belfast for a tour with the Duke of Edinburgh in 1949.
Image: © Belfast Telegraph
Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children, and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The official photograph to mark Prince Charles' 70th birthday was released along with two light-hearted out-takes, one of which is shown here. The images communicate the stability of monarchy and the sense of glimpsing an intimate moment between the individuals behind the public image.
Image: © Chris Jackson / Getty Images for Clarence House
Prince Albert by William Constable. This is the first known photograph to have survived of a member of the British Royal Family.
Image: Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh wave to the cheering crowds from a window in Hillsborough Castle, on the first day of their two-day Silver Jubilee visit to Ulster in 1977.
Image: © PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, 6 November 1954.
Image: Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023
Prince Charles' 70th Birthday, 2018
Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their three children, and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The official photograph to mark Prince Charles' 70th birthday was released along with two light-hearted out-takes, one of which is shown here. The images communicate the stability of monarchy and the sense of glimpsing an intimate moment between the individuals behind the public image.
Image: © Chris Jackson / Getty Images for Clarence House
Princess Elizabeth with lilies, 1929
In 1929 Princess Elizabeth was photographed by her father, the future King George VI, standing in front of a group of Madonna lillies.
The photograph was taken at St Paul’s Walden Bury, the Hertfordshire home of the Princess's maternal grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore. It was exhibited by the future King in the 1930 Kodak exhibition of work by royal photographers.
Image: Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023
EXPLORE WHAT'S ON
- Things to see
- Tours and talks
The Castle
Discover elegant State Rooms still used by the royal family inside Hillsborough Castle.
- Group bookings only
- Hillsborough Castle
- Included in combined castle tour and gardens tickets (members go free)
- Things to see
The Throne Room
Explore the ceremonial heart of the castle, where Queen Elizabeth II received guests at a coronation ball in 1953.
- Group bookings only
- Hillsborough Castle
- Included in combined castle tour and gardens tickets (members go free)
- Things to see
Jubilee Parterre
Discover a charming formal garden and find out why the castle's 19th-century summer house is so unusual.
- In line with gardens opening hours
- Hillsborough Castle
- Included in all admission tickets (members go free)
BROWSE MORE HISTORY AND STORIES
The story of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens
‘The Grandest House in County Down’
Art at Hillsborough Castle
Hillsborough Castle has become a place in which to see amazing art