Buckingham Palace is set to showcase a special exhibition featuring 70 artworks created during King Charles’ royal tours over the past four decades.
The exhibition, titled “The King’s Tour Artists”, will be displayed in the State Rooms this summer.
Many of the works will be shown to the public for the first time.
The collection represents the efforts of 42 artists who have accompanied the King on 69 tours to 95 countries since he first invited an artist to join him 40 years ago.
Buckingham Palace is set to showcase a special exhibition featuring 70 artworks created during King Charles’ royal tours over the past four decades
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The tradition began when the then-Prince of Wales invited artist John Ward to join an official visit to Italy at his own expense.
Ward never carried a camera but always a small sketchbook.
He created “From the Afterdeck of HMY Britannia” during the tour.
The royal yacht also features in Susannah Fiennes’s watercolour depicting yachtsmen during the 1997 Hong Kong handover.
Other notable works include Mary Anne Aytoun Ellis’s painting of Kaieteur Falls in Guyana and Richard Foster’s 2009 capture of the royal couple visiting the Galápagos.
Kate Heard, the exhibition’s curator, said: “This fascinating group of works tells the story of 40 years of official travel and artistic patronage.
“The freedom given to each artist to capture a personal impression of the countries visited has led to the formation of a rich and varied collection.
“Encompassing landscapes, figure studies and still life subjects, these works are testament to His Majesty’s deep engagement with and encouragement of artists over the past four decades.”
King Charles underwent a royal Autumn tour of the South Pacific last October, visiting Australia and Samoa
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The exhibition runs during the summer opening of the state rooms — daily in July and August, and from Thursday to Monday in September.
The Art of Royal Travel will be published on June 19 by Modern Art Press and the Royal Collection Trust.
King Charles and Queen Camilla last left the UK for a four-day tour of Italy in April 2025.
The monarch also underwent a royal Autumn tour of the South Pacific last October, visiting Australia and Samoa.
