Treasures of Buckingham Palace
You never know where and when you can find truly amazing things. It is probable that even some residents of Great Britain are unaware of the magnificent collection of works of art belonging to the British royal family which is held in one of the residences of their beloved Queen Elizabeth – in Buckingham Palace. |
In fact, some really interesting exhibitions take place in Buckingham Palace from time to time. If you decide to visit one of these exhibitions you will see not just the great masterpieces, but you will also plunge into the life and experiences of the monarchs. In this regard, we would like to recall the exhibition held at Buckingham Palace last year, which left an indelible mark in the history of this royal residence. This exhibition clearly demonstrated the close ties between two European royal houses: the House of Windsor and the House of the Romanovs. The ties are primarily due to the blood relationships of the two dynasties. The Russian Tsar Nicholas II was a cousin of King George V on the maternal line: the mother of Nicholas II, Maria Feodorovna, was a full sister of Queen Alexandra, mother of George V. The kinship of these two monarchs can be clearly seen when looking at their photographs side by side.
The visitors to the exhibition could view photographs depicting the members of the Russian and British royal families. In particular, one of the pictures showed Queen Victoria and the future king Edward VII (father of George V) with the Russian emperor Nicholas II and the members of his family during their staying at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Among the items of the exhibition visitors could admire the royal collection of jewellery made by the great Russian jeweller Fabergé. By the way, the Russian Tsar usually presented jewellery by Fabergé to the British monarchs since it was next to impossible to surprise the latter. One of such presents was the notebook in a silver-gilt case, presented to Queen Victoria by Nicholas II. This notebook is famous as all the European monarchs who came to Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, signed it. All those gifts, as well as the photographs, underline the strong ties between the Windsors and the Romanovs.
In general, all members of the British royal family treasured both the valuables and jewellery presented to them, and those they bought for themselves. These unique items were displayed at the Buckingham Palace exhibition. There were clockwork elephants, platinum-whiskered mice, quartz pelicans and diamond-studded eggs, miniature tea sets and highly decorated kovsh, including the one with an enamelled copy of a painting by Ilya Repin of some Cossacks.
So you will appreciate that Buckingham Palace is not just a place where you can find out something about the history of the British monarchs, but also a place where you can marvel at the luxury of the Russian crown. You only have to follow the events and exhibitions demonstrating this luxury!