Music and poetry have been created to mark the crowning of Charles III as king, but—for the first time since the 17th century—there will be no official artist

On 6 May, the last surviving coronation ceremony in the West takes place in London’s Westminster Abbey

Opening it up through more generous loans and by easing copyright restrictions would be good for both HM and the country

Plus, how UK museums can respond to the energy crisis, and a haunting Henry Fuseli painting

Britain’s longest-serving monarch died at Balmoral, her private estate in Aberdeenshire. During her reign she oversaw the opening up of the Royal Collection to the public and to art history

Depictions of the British sovereign, one of the most painted women in history, reflect the changing status of the monarchy over more than half a century

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 a consciously inclusive Coronation dress in 1953 to a brooch that symbolised compassion for Covid victims in 2020, Queen Elizabeth II used what she wore to be seen from afar and to make diplomatic and emotional statements

The British sovereign made herself globally visible, using personal presence, coded symbolism, and the power of broadcasting, to uphold a constitutional monarchy in an era of unparalleled social change

From wartime princess in khaki green to widowed monarch in black, Elizabeth became, through visual media, the most recognised figure in the world

Over seven decades, the monarch used ceremonial, media and heritage to project soft power around the globe

Could the historic pieces make an appearance at Westminster Abbey when Prince Charles succeeds the Queen?

The 17th-century oba head was plucked from the Nigerian National Museum and given to Elizabeth II as a thank-you gift

Surveyor of The Queen's Pictures post, held by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, will be ‘lost and held in abeyance’

Major palace renovations mean that the Queen's Gallery will display 65 works from the Royal Collection including pieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer

Plus, artist Rita Keegan on her postponed show and Julia Peyton-Jones on Leonardo. Produced in association with Christie's

The drawing, believed to be one of only two contemporary images of the artist, will go on show for the first time at the Queen’s Gallery in London

Drawings from the Royal Collection go on show around the country this week before larger surveys in London and Edinburgh later in the year

The mark is “the most convincing candidate for an authentic Leonardo fingerprint” among the Queen’s 550 works by the great artist

The Queen has seven Rembrandts, 29 Van Dycks and 52 Canalettos, yet not one is on long-term display in Scotland

From Cecil Beaton to Annie Leibovitz and from Pietro Annigoni to Lucian Freud, a broad spectrum of image-makers have portrayed the Queen

The acquisitions have not been ostentatious, with a significant portion of them being historic royal portraits, bequests or donations