29/11/2001

The largest exhibition of artworks owned by HRH Queen Elizabeth II has been announced for display and will open in May 2002 to celebrate her Golden Jubilee, or 50 years on the throne. Opening in London, the new $ 28.1 million (€ 32 million) Queen’s Gallery, the biggest addition to Buckingham Palace for 170 years, will see 450 items on show, including Rembrandt and Vermeer paintings and a Michelangelo drawing. The Queen owns over 6,500 paintings, 20,000 Old Master drawings (including 600 works by Leonardo da Vinci) with the majority of these held at the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. In 2000 EuroBusiness Magazine claimed the Queen to be the wealthiest woman with financial assets of around $ 2.7 billion (€ 3.11 billion). (Andrew Moore)