The Queen's Gallery

The Queen's Gallery is a serious collection, worthy of in depth study. The collection rotates a couple of times a year, but whatever the theme for a particular show, it is in depth. The people who prepare the audio guide give a lot of detail so that the work of various artists can be knowledgeably compared. This might be a little more information than some want, but if you are of a mind to really get into a subject, this is the place.

...a delightful gallery, 1.5 hours for the average viewer, but the necessary security can be teasing if like me you carry everything from a nail file to a Swiss army knife - if you visit on a Queen's garden party day you can see all the fashions.

I visited the Queen's Gallery only because it was included in my ticket price with the combo ticket to Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews.

Entrances are timed, but I would reccomend that you pick a very early time. My ticket said 9:30am, which was the opening time for the gallery, and I waited in line until nearly 10am. So I'm guessing that by the time, say 2pm arrives, the line is pretty long despite the fact that you've got a timed entrance ticket because they wouldn't allow the 9:45 people to even enter the queue until we had all gotten into the gallery, and that was well past 10am.

Your bags, ladies, will be searched by hand by a gloved security official before you enter, and expect to be told about a dozen times by no less than four officials to turn off your mobile while you are in line. Then watch in amusement while the security guard pantomimes the rules ("no photos" while pretending to take a picture, "no food" while pretending to bring a fork to his mouth) if you approach the front of the line and don't address him in English. Then watch his jaw drop as you say "I can speak English".

The collection is very small, about three rooms. There is furniture and a delightful collection of faberge animals, but the majority of the gallery is sevre porcelain. If you enjoy this type of art, you will really enjoy it. If you have a look around, listen to a few points from the audio, and then head out you will have spent your admission and wait time for about a half hour visit.

If you plan to visit Buckingham Palace and/or the Royal Mews, then do so in this order because the exit from Buckingham will take you far away from either:

1.) Queen's Gallery 2.) Royal Mews 3.) Buckingham

The gallery came first only because of the wait time compared to the mews.