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Standing at the end of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official home of His Majesty The King in Scotland. The Palace has been a royal residence for over 500 years and is closely associated with Scotland’s rich history. A visit to the Palace includes the Historic Apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and the magnificent Great Gallery, lined with Jacob de Wet’s portraits of the real and legendary kings of Scotland. The State Apartments today reflect the changing tastes of successive monarchs and on display are numerous Dutch and Flemish works of art from the Royal Collection including portraits by Peter Lely and Daniel Mijtens and an unrivalled collection of Brussels tapestries.
The King’s Gallery (formerly known as the Queen’s Gallery) in Edinburgh is located at the entrance to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and was built in the shell of a former church and school dating from the 1840s. It was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in November 2002 as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. Today the Gallery hosts a program of changing exhibitions from the Royal Collection. Past exhibitions containing a large proportion of Dutch and Flemish works of art include The Northern Renaissance, Bruegel to Rubens and Masters of the Everyday.
Anna Reynolds, Deputy Surveyor of The King’s Pictures (published in May 2021 and updated in February 2024)