News

Queen Elizabeth II, proprietor in trust of one of the world's greatest art collections, has died, aged 96

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

With royal approval: UK's arts organisation chiefs on how they have benefitted from the Queen’s patronage

Support from the Queen has been crucial to the functioning of a number of Britain's arts institutions

Obituary

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II, the British sovereign who perfected the fine art of monarchy

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

Podcast

Do good monarchs make bad art collectors? Inside the British Royal Collection

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

Sponsored byChristie's

Features

Why Queen Elizabeth II was one of the greatest performance artists of all time

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

Queen Elizabeth II: what really appealed to the Lowry-buying monarch who once said 'I have no taste'?

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

The best artist portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, from Cecil Beaton's fairytale glitter to Jamie Reid's punk provocation

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

A coded royal message: how the Queen used clothes to send signals to the world

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

Six of the best photographs from Queen Elizabeth II's life in the spotlight

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

From the archive

'For the King’s pleasure': a ground-breaking study of the interiors of Windsor Castle by a director of the Royal Collection under Elizabeth II

A landmark account of George IV’s decorations and furnishings at Windsor Castle, by Hugh Roberts, who was closely involved in the restoration of many of those interiors following the 1992 fire

The Royal Collection's list of paintings acquired in the first 50 years of Elizabeth II's reign

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

The Queen's image: how portrayals of Elizabeth II changed over her lifetime

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

A true icon: Pietro Annigoni’s 1955 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

The story of the royal portrait that has most deeply embedded itself in British consciousness and was adopted all over the Commonwealth

Pleasant and acceptable: how Pietro Annigoni came to create a second portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 1970

In 1967 the National Portrait Gallery in London did not own a portrait of the monarch—but commissioning one was to prove a challenge