The Queen's Gallery

Literally just around the corner from Buckingham Palace. Definitely fun to walk around and browse "unique" souvenirs with the Royal Crest and more. Yes they are overpriced. My way of judging overpricing of this store is to think what it is worth, then add a 50% surcharge for being "Royal" and THEN double it and I am always close to the actual prices.

Now if you want something almost unique then the prices are CRAZY and TRULY unique the prices are OUTRAGEOUS- see my pics :)

Definitely gotta go, browse and buy a must-have trinket or two - eg four metal drinking straws and a cleaning brush in a red back marked "Buckingham Palace" (I'm sure EIIR uses them all the time when traveling?) £9.95

Review #68 2019

Visited here for the Da Vinci exhibit. After checking the ticketing website over and over to see if any morning slots would open up (initially, only late afternoon time slots were open), the evening before I went, I checked the website again and saw that morning time slots opened up.

Wow, I was so happy and feel so lucky that a ticket slot during a time that worked for me opened up! I instantly snatched up my ticket, and was happy to wake up early to head to the gallery. I even caught the Crossing of the Guards before going into the gallery.

The entrance looks like a Greek temple, and it's not hard to miss. There were DaVinci exhibit posters at the entrance, along with a line of people. Going into the gallery is like going through airport security, understandably so, since The Queen's Gallery is palace property, even if it is open for public visits.

If you're a fan of history, science (particularly medical science), AND fine art, the Da Vinci exhibit is a must-see! Marveling over his original drawings, to think that his hand, mind, heart, and eyes passed over each of these drawings centuries ago is breathtaking. Some of the highlights of the exhibit for me:

1. Studies of heads in profile
2. Numerous studies of horses
3. The fantastical and allegorical drawing "An allegory with a dog and an eagle"
4. A 4-part drawing study of sections of the skull, layers of the scalp and cerebral ventricles, and proportions of the head
5. The fall of light on a face
6. The hemisection of a man and woman in the act of coition
7. Neptune
8. Studies for Leda and the Swan
9. Dragon sketches, especially one that resembled Chinese dragons, and the Chinese dragon dancing costumes
10. Costume studies from his time as a court artist for King Francis I in France.
11. Studies of fetus in the womb, and the muscles attached to the pelvis

Nothing short of astounding and breathtaking. I feel lucky to be born in a world where Leonardo Da Vinci existed with such a rich legacy. I highly recommend catching this exhibit while it's still here!

We were pleasantly surprised by this museum! We almost didn't come but I'm so glad we did! It's nothing compared to other major galleries around the world, but if you know that going in you will still enjoy this very much! There were some lovely pieces in it as well! There was even an original copy of Emma by Jane Austen that she dedicated and gave personally to King George IV! It was also interesting to hear the story of this king as we knew so little about him...and the audio guide was free! They also did a short talk about the diamond diadem which was very fascinating...and well worth seeing! It has over 1300 diamonds in it at over 320 carats!

For the price, I would not recommend this as a stop. It is a small viewing gallery that rotates whatever the current showing is. The choice while we were there was on Leonardo da Vinci. It has some of his sketches as well as some other artists, but not really worth the £52 pounds we paid to get in. I would skip this one for sure. It was interesting, just not worth the price.

My rating system consists of a 3-star being exactly what you expected and neither good nor bad. A 4 means something was extra special and a 5 means you were blown away. A 2 star rating was disappointing and a 1-star rating is terrible

Absolutely lovely. I only went to the gift shop.
I came to Buckingham Palace hoping to see The Change of the Guard. During the winter, it was every other day. Of course it didn't happen when I came here.
I walked around and found it. I didn't know what it was, so I went in to find out. It was a gallery with a little gift shop .
Everything was so cute, and I just wanted to buy everything. I spent long time and picked the ones I liked.
I can't say anything for the gallery itself, but the gift shop was good.

Ok, I know one star is really harsh but I didn't think this place was worth my time in the least. We had the Royal Day Out ticket package so this was included. It gave a few hours for this and the Royal Mews. Initially I was worried we wouldn't be able to see both before making our time to enter the palace. There was no need to worry; we only spent maybe 10 minutes in the Queen's Gallery.

For one I'm not big into painting type art. I like viewing paintings if they're uber famous like the Mona Lisa, but otherwise I really could care less unless it is extremely impressive to behold. On display when we visited were original hand drawings from Da Vinci. Initially, I thought wow now that will be cool to see. Yeah, maybe for 5 seconds. There were only so many pencil sketches of the human body I can stare at for so long. They also had a massive recreation of The Last Supper. I almost thought they somehow got it on loan from Italy because we get some cool art in San Francisco that way all the time. A lot of other people, based on their reactions, seemed to think the same. However, I was quickly put straight by an employee with a scoff that I could even think it was the original. Keep in mind, I didn't want to look like a total idiot when I asked so I searched high and low for any information around the painting stating it was not the real thing but there was nothing mentioned. The heat in the museum, the dull exhibits, and the employees all added up to our quick escape. Skip this unless you have a burning desire or interest to see what's on display.

I came here because it was included in the London Pass and I was going to go to Buckingham anyway. This is located right next to the Hoho stop, and if you're staring at the Buckingham Palace entrance off to the left side along the perimeter.

There were 2 exhibits going on at the time, the Masters of the Everyday and Thomas Rowlandson Comic Art. I am not an art enthusiast by any means, but I found the audio tour to be slightly entertaining and moderately informative. The whole gallery took about an hour and a half to walk through. This is a decent alternative if you're a tourist looking to avoid other tourists.

OMG I LOVED IT HERE! I'm obsessed with the royals so this shop was just everything to me!! They've got great souvenirs but it's a bit on the pricey side. Some of the stuff include teas, tea cups and other dishes, magnets, hats, post cards, pins, soaps, etc. You can also get a lot of this stuff in souvenir shops nearby at cheaper prices which I didn't know of prior to but I feel awesome knowing I've gotten something from the Queen's Gallery:)

This I'll definitely visit again! :)

My parents were going here so I figured "What the heck, I'll join them." I am glad I did. We were there for the Dutch Landscapes and the selection was beautiful. And interestingly enough, there were several landscapes of the Scheveningen area in Holland - where my great-grandparents came from. Pretty cool.

Then we ventured into the Treasures from the Royal Collection - this was filled with some very stunning pieces.

And by pure coincidence, at the Goring Hotel two nights later, I met the wife of the gentleman who curates the collections at the Queens Gallery.

My only real issue is that while many of the great Museums in London are free, the Royal Collection sites (which include the Queens Gallery, The Royal Mews, Windsor Castle, etc) all charge admission fees. I understand the need to pay for staffing, security, etc., and I greatly appreciate the ability to see the vast collections that the Royal's have amassed. I just wonder how the people who truly paid for these items over the centuries feel about having to pay to see them.

I am glad we do now get the chance to see some of the items collected over the centuries by the Royals.

If you walk around the perimeter of the Buckingham Palace, you'll get to this place, The Queen's Gallery. They offer combined tickets along with the Royal Mews, but if you have the London Pass, then your entrance fee is waived, and yes I recommend this place as well.

On my visit here, it was nothing but Leonardo di Vinci's anatomy exhibit. It's basically all his notes and drawings of the human body compiled into 3 main rooms in the Queen's Gallery.

How often do you get to see dozens and dozens of pages of di Vinci's work in a single museum? It was a very impressive sight.

And besides the exhibit, their museum shop was pretty cool too. Lot's and lots of queen stuff can be bought here. They even have china with a picture of the queen's face on it for only a few hundred £.

This place is part of the London Pass, so don't forget to stop by.