Your donations make a difference

They help to:

  • Keep our sites open for the public to enjoy
  • Maintain free entry at the National Maritime Museum and The Queen’s House
  • Help conservators look after our collections
  • Design and re-invent galleries
  • Acquire objects for our collection
  • Develop our learning and education programmes
Nelson's Coat in Nelson, Navy, Nation at the National Maritime Museum (L8624-070).jpg

Preserve our history with your donations 

Your donations mean that we can continue to tell stories of our past and present, and add many more to our collections.

In 2018, thanks to donations like yours, we raised over £12 million, enabling us to open four new galleries in the National Maritime Museum.

Through your donations, you are helping to preserve our collections and tell our nation's stories.

 

 

A conservator works on a small portion of a large maritime oil painting

You can save art for the nation

Through your support, we will ensure that iconic and important works of art remain accessible for all.

One of the most iconic pieces in our collection, the Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I, was acquired via a fundraising campaign that saw donors like you raise over £10 million. The portrait now has public ownership for the first time in its 436-year history.

A large telescope under a partially open domed roof.

Your donations help the discovery of our future

Our new telescope, the Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope (AMAT), can capture images of the stars, nebulae, and planets. The purchase of this telescope in 2017 was made possible with your donations!

Thanks to donors like you, the Royal Observatory is once again a working observatory, advancing the history and practice of astronomical and navigational sciences.

A child and her mother take part in a family activity during Diwali celebrations at the National Maritime Museum

Your donations will enrich our community

Thanks to your donations, we can continue to fund our programmes that inspire and empower young people. 

Your donations have supported the development of our new galleries project, enabling 533 young people from 18 local colleges within the Royal Borough of Greenwich to participate in a programme established to introduce young people from non-traditional backgrounds to the opportunities offered by the museum sector.

Donate today

Success stories

Discover some of the amazing accomplishments made possible by our supporters.

Continue reading

Our historic sites

Our sites sit at the very heart of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. 

Cutty Sark remains in pride of place in Greenwich thanks to donations that helped fund an extensive restoration.

Donations have also helped ensure the future of our Grade I listed buildings, including the Queen's House, the first Classical building in England.

An image for 'Our historic sites'

The iconic Armada Portrait

Your support allows us to ensure that iconic and important works of art remain accessible for everyone.

One of the most iconic pieces in our collection, the Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I, was acquired via a fundraising campaign. Donors raised over £10 million, allowing the painting to enter public ownership for the first time in its 425-year history. It now hangs in the Queen’s House, on the site of Greenwich Palace, Elizabeth I’s birthplace.

An image for 'The iconic Armada Portrait'

Knowledge of the universe

Your support has transformed the Royal Observatory into a working observatory for the first time in 60 years.

Our state-of-the-art telescope, the Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope (AMAT), captures images of the stars, nebulae and planets, and helps us further our knowledge of the universe. It is also used for educational outreach and to inspire the next generation of astronomers.

With your help, we will remain a world-class centre of research and education.

An image for 'Knowledge of the universe'

The Solebay tapestry

The Solebay tapestry depicts the climax of the Battle of Solebay, a naval battle that occurred in May 1672. 

Commissioned by King Charles II in the 17th century and designed by the artist Willem van de Velde the Elder, the work is part of the only surviving English naval tapestry series.

Thanks to a record-breaking response to a crowdfunding campaign, our supporters helped us raise more than £26,900 to help conserve this remarkable piece and preserve it for future generations.

An image for 'The Solebay tapestry'

Discovery to conservation

Thanks to your donations, we were able to conserve and proudly display 'The Lost Gainsborough Portrait'. After discovering Thomas Gainsborough's portrait of Captain Frederick Cornwell in our painting stores, we launched a public campaign that raised over £43,000 in support of urgent conservation.

Through your donations, you are joining us on our artistic journey from discovery to display.

 

An image for 'Discovery to conservation '

The National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory Greenwich and Queen's House are international treasures ... they must sustain. My donation is a small contribution, but I hope you attract donations from many more of us. Be strong ... the world needs you!

Roy Clare, Supporter of Royal Museums Greenwich

Other ways to support

Membership

Be part of an epic journey of discovery, with year-round access to the Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark, National Maritime Museum and Queen's House

Leave a legacy

Help us in our important work by remembering Royal Museums Greenwich in your will

Become a Patron

Support Royal Museums Greenwich

Support us

Help care for the world’s largest maritime heritage collections and preserve our historic venues Cutty Sark, the Queen's House and Royal Observatory

Royal Museums Greenwich is a charity and national museum, we are exempt from registration under Schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011. This means that we are regulated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) rather than the Charity Commission, and we do not have a charity registration number.