Royal River

To celebrate not only the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, but also its own 75th anniversary, the National Maritime Museum in the newly Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, created Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames (CLICK). This is a major exhibition comprising nearly 400 items, 250 of them on loan from museums, galleries and private collections across Europe and America, many of which have never been on public display before. The advertisement above features a detail from Canaletto's huge panorama The River Thames on Lord Mayor's Day (c.1747-48) borrowed from the Lobkowicz Palace Museum in Prague Castle, Czech Republic. Princess Elizabeth was 11 years old when she accompanied her parents and Queen Mary (then Queen Mother) to the National Maritime Museum for its opening by King George VI on 27 April 1937 (CLICK). Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Greenwich last Wednesday included an historically appropriate visit to the Royal River exhibition in the new Sammy Ofer Wing, but the media were too excited by the reopening of the Cutty Sark to pay due attention. Royal River flows until 9 September. Entry is £11 for adults, £9 for silver surfers, which I don't regard as OTT for what is undoubtedly a landmark exhibition.