Buckingham Palace, King's Gallery

The Museum & the Collection

The Royal Collections Trust is the charity responsible for caring for the Royal Collection and welcoming visitors to the royal palaces, with its work spanning exhibitions, learning programmes, publications and retail in support of making the collection and palaces valued and enjoyed by everyone. At The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, temporary exhibitions bring exceptional objects into a prominent public setting. For The Edwardians: Age of Elegance, the exhibition explored the opulence and glamour of the Edwardian era through the lives and tastes of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and King George V and Queen Mary, presenting everything from jewellery and costumes to ceramics, silver and gold objects collected by or presented to the royal family.

The Assignment & the Challenges

For this project, Meyvaert supplied 14 modular freestanding cases for the Royal Collections Trust’s temporary exhibition programme at The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace. This was the second order of modular cases, intended to increase the number of available cases and broaden the range of configurations that could be assembled for future exhibitions. Connection kits and spare tops and bottoms were included so that leftover glass from joined cases could be reused efficiently. This enhanced the long-term adaptability of the showcases even further. The client’s requirements were clear: conservation-grade showcases with strong security and the flexibility to serve not just one exhibition, but a continuing programme of temporary displays.

The Solutions & the Result

Larger assemblies were created from multiple modular units, including a prominent central case formed in a two-by-three arrangement on a raised platform, while other cases were used individually or in grouped layouts to suit the objects on display. This modular approach allowed the exhibition design to respond precisely to different artefact types and scales, from jewellery to large ceremonial costumes. 

For this exhibition, the cases were enhanced with fabric-wrapped internal and external dressing panels, elevated and internal plinths, and detailed label holders to create a refined and visually integrated gallery presentation.

As is often the case in historic buildings with wooden floors, slight floor movement during installation could affect levelling as the case weight increased. The system addressed this through levelling feet adjustable from above within the case, allowing fine-tuning after assembly.

Sustainability was a key requirement. Instead of relying on single-use cases for each temporary exhibition, the Royal Collections Trust invested in a reusable system that can be disassembled, reconfigured, stored and returned in new layouts for future displays.