PRESS RELEASE

Royal Childhood A special exhibition at the Summer Opening of

The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace 26 July – 28 September 2014

From well-loved toys and treasured family gifts to tiny childhood outfits, a special exhibition at Buckingham Palace will give an unprecedented glimpse into life as a young member of the royal family growing up at Buckingham Palace. Spanning more than 250 years, Royal Childhood brings together objects from the Royal Collection, the Royal Archives and the private collections of members of the Royal Family, as well as photographs and film footage.

The official residence of Her Majesty The Queen and one of the most famous buildings in the world, Buckingham Palace has been a royal family home since George III purchased Princess Elizabeth and Buckingham House for his new wife Queen Charlotte in 1762. Princess Margaret on a rocking In 1845 Queen Victoria commissioned a fourth wing to be horse, August 1932 added to the Palace to provide 'accommodation for our little family, which is fast growing up' – she had nine children.

Buckingham Palace has been the setting for many royal births and christenings over the centuries. The spectacular silver-gilt Lily Font, commissioned by Queen Victoria for the christening of her first daughter Princess Victoria in 1841, has been used at almost all major royal baptisms since, most recently for the christening of Prince George at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace in October 2013. The font will go on display in Buckingham Palace's Music Room, where Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince William were baptized. The silk-satin and lace christening robe worn by Prince George, a replica of the original royal christening robe commissioned by Queen Victoria, will also be shown.

Outfits worn by young princes and princesses include the velvet 'walking suits' of the future King , a pink coat belonging to the nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth (Her Majesty The Queen) and Prince William's page-boy 'sailor suit' from the wedding of The in 1986. A tiny pair of velvet shoes belonging to Queen Victoria's eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, have inscribed on the sole that they were worn by the future King Edward VII at the age of eight months.

The exhibition will bring together both family and official gifts presented to royal children. In 1763, a silver baby's rattle was given to the infant Prince of (the future George IV) by his governess; it was subsequently used by his 14 siblings, before being passed to Queen Victoria for use in the royal nursery. In 1883 Queen Victoria gave her newly born granddaughter Princess Alice a pink wool blanket that she herself had embroidered. In 1932 the people of Wales presented Princess Elizabeth, or 'Lilibet' as she was known to close family, with a miniature thatched cottage on the occasion of her sixth birthday.

Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.royalcollection.org.uk

'Y Bwthyn Bach', or 'The Little House', constructed in the grounds of Royal Lodge in Windsor, boasts electric lighting and running water. The cottage was a favourite toy of Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister Princess Margaret, and continues to be used by the current generation of royal children. The miniature kitchen will be recreated at Buckingham Palace for the exhibition.

A number of The Queen's childhood toys will go on display, including a pink tea set in the shape of a rabbit, a set of Knockemdown Ninepins and a wicker pram that the two-year-old Princess Elizabeth enjoyed pushing around the gardens of 145 Piccadilly, her family home until the age of ten. The Queen's early love of equestrianism is reflected in a pair of rocking horses that she and her sister played with from an early age – each horse sports a rosette bearing the initials of one of the Princesses.

The toys on display will range from jigsaws to train sets, many enjoyed by generations of royal children. The same small wooden wheelbarrow in the shape of a dog is seen in a photograph of Princess Margaret and then in a photograph of her niece, Princess Anne. Among the earliest items in the exhibition are a dolls' house created by a carpenter on the Royal Yacht for George III's daughters, and dolls made by the young Princess Victoria, inspired by the characters she had seen at the ballet or the opera. Two Parisian dolls belonging to the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and dressed in French couture outfits, will go on display for the first time.

Royal Childhood is part of a visit to the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, 26 July – 28 September 2014.

Families visiting the Palace will be able to pick up a multi-media guide for children aged 5-12 and visit a special family tent on the Palace's West Terrace to join in with fun activities.

The exhibition is accompanied by Royal Childhood: A Souvenir Album by Anna Reynolds and Lucy Peter, price £12.95 or £9.95 on-site (hardback).

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Advance tickets and visitor information: www.royalcollection.org.uk, T. +44 (0)20 7766 7300.

A selection of images is available from www.picselect.com. For further information and photographs, please contact the Royal Collection Trust Press Office, +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected].

Notes to Editors

Royal Collection Trust, a department of the Royal Household, is responsible for the care of the Royal Collection and manages the public opening of the official residences of The Queen. Income generated from admissions and from associated commercial activities contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and

Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.royalcollection.org.uk enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational programmes. Royal Collection Trust’s work is undertaken without public funding of any kind.

The Royal Collection is among the largest and most important art collections in the world, and one of the last great European royal collections to remain intact. It comprises almost all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, and is spread among some 13 royal residences and former residences across the UK, most of which are regularly open to the public. The Royal Collection is held in trust by the Sovereign for her successors and the nation, and is not owned by The Queen as a private individual.

Admission to Buckingham Palace is managed by The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity in and Wales (1016972) and in Scotland (SCO39772).

Press Office, Royal Collection Trust, York House, St James’s Palace, London SW1A 1BQ T. +44 (0)20 7839 1377, [email protected], www.royalcollection.org.uk