The Queen celebrates art and culture in Bath

At the Holburne Museum, The Queen toured the recently completed Schroder Gallery and viewed new exhibitions featuring the colourful textiles of fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes and photographs taken by Sir Don McCullin. 

The Schroder Gallery houses Renaissance silverware, paintings, bronzes, maiolica and gems from the Schroder family collection, which are on long-term loan to the museum. The display includes over 100 pieces of silver, many of which date from the 16th and 17th centuries.

'Zandra Rhodes: A Life in Print' celebrates one of Britain’s most influential fashion designers. The exhibition brings together a selection of Dame Zandra Rhodes’ screen-printed garments from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

In an exhibition of his work, The Queen met Sir Don McCullin, who is renowned for his powerful black-and-white images documenting conflict, humanitarian crises, poverty and post-war Britain.

Her Majesty also saw artworks created by the local community group, Pathways to Wellbeing. The Queen met some of the participants who created works of art on display, reflecting on the importance of care.

As Patron of Theatre Royal Bath, The Queen visited the theatre to watch part of the technical rehearsal for their community production of 'David Copperfield: A Life'. 

Following the rehearsal, Her Majesty met some of the 100 participants from the region who are involved in the production. 

Built in 1805, Theatre Royal Bath is a registered charity which provides a programme of high-quality entertainment throughout the year and delivers arts education and participation opportunities for the local community. 

The Queen also visited the space within the theatre that will be transformed into a new community studio theatre, Venue 4, to give local people access to performing arts at low and no cost.

Finally, Her Majesty visited Persephone Books, an independent publisher and bookshop founded in 1999. The company specialises in reprinting neglected fiction and non-fiction, primarily by women writers, with most titles originating from the mid-twentieth century, and regularly hosts book groups, film screening and free literary events. 

The Queen, a prolific reader and strong supporter of reading and literacy, spent time talking with the small team who run the business and browsed the wide selection of books on offer in the bookshop.