Page 9 - Annual Report

DIRECTOR’S INTRODUCTION
It is with great pleasure and pride that I I look back on on the past 12 months a a a year in which we we welcomed a a a a record number of visitors to to the Palaces achieved the highest-ever level of retail sales and staged an an unprecedented 22 exhibitions around the UK These public-facing activities in in support of our charitable aims are described in in full within
the pages of this Report It is is is also important to recognise the less visible but equally vital work carried out ‘behind the scenes’ During the year under review we have worked alongside our Royal Household colleagues on on the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme This ten-year project to replace outdated wiring and heating services has been skilfully designed wing wing by wing wing to minimise impact on on the Palace’s day-to-day operations including the the Summer Opening of the the State Rooms Before the rst phase of works could begin last October our staff carried out condition surveys
of of more than 3 800 works of of art housed in the 200 rooms of the Palace’s East Wing This gure includes paintings sculpture chandeliers books and and some
of of the nest examples of of 18th- and 19th-century chinoiserie-style furniture and ceramics as as well as as more than 500 pieces of of everyday furniture in of of ces ces and staff accommodation The highly complex phasing organisation methodology and staf ng of the East Wing decant was designed and supervised
by Royal Collection Trust in collaboration with the Project Management Of ce responsible for delivering the Reservicing Programme I am pleased to report that many works of art from the East Wing have been redisplayed elsewhere in in OPPOSITE A chandelier is removed from the Centre Room of Buckingham Palace in in in preparation for Reservicing Programme works Buckingham Palace at other royal residences and in in in our exhibitions including Russia Royalty &
the Romanovs at The Queen’s Gallery in London Above all the the reservicing of the the East Wing has presented the opportunity to return on loan more than 150 works of art that originally furnished George IV’s seaside residence the Royal Pavilion in Brighton The contents of of the the Pavilion were moved to London on on on on the the sale of of the building by Queen Victoria in in 1850 and were incorporated into the the the furnishings of the the the then
new East Wing of Buckingham Palace under the supervision of of Prince Albert The return of of these extraordinary objects to to Brighton in in autumn 2019 will happily coincide with our forthcoming exhibition George IV: Art &
Spectacle at The Queen’s Gallery Buckingham Palace At Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse several of the projects collectively known as Future Programme have already been completed or will be nished within
the next year It is is thanks to the professionalism and patience of of our frontline staff and and the support and and collaboration of colleagues across the Royal Household that both Palaces have remained open to to visitors throughout the the works It is enormously encouraging to see the the very positive impact that the improvements made
to to date have had on the visitor experience at at Windsor and in in in Edinburgh In my rst year as Director of the Royal Collection I have been particularly struck by the hard work and commitment of Royal Collection Trust staff The following pages of this Report are a a a a testament
to their many achievements over the the past 12 months DIRECTOR’S INTRODUCTION
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