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Life Through a Royal Lens

A brand new exhibition exploring the Royal Family through photography

A brand new exhibition exploring the Royal Family through photography

Updated 29 May. In line with government guidance, our palaces remain closed. We are working on detailed plans to safely re-open our sites, starting with our outdoor spaces. Thank you for your patience. Read our statement

When

Opening 2021

Ticketing information

Included in palace admission (members go free)

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Opening in 2021, Life Through a Royal Lens brings some of the most iconic photographs ever taken of the Royal Family to Kensington Palace.

For almost 200 years the medium of photography has created an unprecedented intimacy between Sovereign and subjects. The new display explores the British Royal Family’s enduring relationship with the camera; from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s patronage of photography during its infancy to lesser known intimate family portraits, spanning from the 19th century right up until the present day.

 

Royal life behind the scenes

Experience the impact of photographer Cecil Beaton – one of the great shapers of royal image in the twentieth century - and his work in redefining modern royal portraiture.

View stunning images of Her Majesty the Queen and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, among Beaton’s most faithful sitters, to discover how his work influenced public perceptions of the royals.

Take home your own sovereign souvenir

Channel your inner-royal and pose for your own photo against an iconic Beaton-style backdrop.

#RoyalLens

An exclusive look through the lens

Going on display at Kensington Palace for the first time will also be a selection of images taken by Royal Family members themselves, including the work of celebrated photographer and former resident of the Palace, Lord Snowdon, husband of Princess Margaret.

All images: © Cecil Beaton / Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Queen Victoria, The Prince Consort and Victoria, Princess Royal. Image:Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020.

Edward VII and Queen Alexandra at State Opening of Parliament. Image: Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020.

Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Image: Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2020.

Explore what's on

Full-length, standing, facing the viewer, head turned half to the right, wearing a white dress with a diaphanous blue wrap, holding a posie of flowers in her right hand; beside a path in a parkland setting, with Kensington Palace in the distance, on the right.
Things to see Highlights

Victoria: A Royal Childhood

Discover the story of Princess Victoria, the young girl destined to be queen, in the rooms where she was born and raised at Kensington Palace.

Daily

Kensington Palace

Included in palace admission (members go free)

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Highlights Things to see

The King's State Apartments

Wander through the lavish rooms of the King's State Apartments, each one grander than the last, at Kensington Palace.

Open daily

Kensington Palace

Included in palace admission (members go free)

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A large four poster bed covered in detailed period fabric, in a bedroom covered in dark green wall decor
Things to see

The Queen’s State Apartments

Explore the beautiful private rooms at Kensington Palace where Mary II once took her meals, relaxed and entertained.

Closed until 31 March 2020

Kensington Palace

Included in palace admission (members go free)

Learn more

Browse more history and stories

A history of royal weddings

From Queen Victoria to the modern royals

Queen Victoria

From pampered princess to elderly empress: wife, mother and queen

The story of Kensington Palace

An elegant retreat for Britain's royal family

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