Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames

Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames

Magnificent gilded barges, liverymen in their finest uniforms, the splendour of lavish celebrations: the Thames is the ‘royal river’, used for centuries by British monarchs to involve the people in ceremony and festivities displaying their regal status. For hundreds of years this famous royal river has been host to the pageantry of coronations, processions of boats, and other events which helped tie people closer to the Crown and to London as Britain’s capital.

This spectacular exhibition, a landmark heritage event of the year, brought together nearly 400 beautiful, fascinating and often unique objects, including one of the largest-ever loans of Royal Collection objects to any museum. Created to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and guest-curated by David Starkey, Royal River presented the historic Thames in all its glory, from British royal and City events to London’s famous watermen, the annual royal swan upping ceremony and the river’s transformation after the notorious ‘Great Stink’.

Watch or listen to two special Royal River compositions by Trinity Laban music students