From illuminated manuscripts to theatrically staged photography, the codified image of a crowned monarch has told the story of a rite that mixes religious and pre-Christian practices

The monarch's gardens at Highgrove are the purest example of his late-Victorian-inspired vision

Over 70 years on the throne, the British sovereign delegated matters of aesthetics either to her late husband or to her son and heir, Charles

From Habitat to the Design Museum, from the Soup Kitchen to Quaglino’s, he transformed Britain’s cultural landscape