
Essential Information
Type | Exhibitions |
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Date and Times | 28 May - 31 October 2021 |
Prices | Adult £10 | Child £5 | Under 25s & students £6.50 |
Location |
National Maritime Museum
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Come face-to-face with the kings and queens who have shaped British history for over 500 years.
Tudors to Windsors: British Royal Portraits at the National Maritime Museum includes over 150 of the finest portraits from across five royal dynasties.
Discover how royal portraiture has developed over the last five centuries, from Henry VII to Elizabeth II.
Plan your visit
You must book your time slot in advance, even if you're a Member.
Pre-booked tickets ensure that visits are spread out throughout the day, and that the gallery doesn't exceed capacity. There is no limit to the time you can spend in the exhibition.
The National Maritime Museum is due to open from Monday 17 May.
We've been awarded 'good to go' status for our coronavirus measures, and the safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers remains our highest priority.
Find useful information about facilities at our museums including cloakrooms, baby change and accessibility, and information for visitors with disabilities coming to any of our sites.
The Parkside Café is a bright and airy space at the National Maritime Museum with expansive views of Greenwich Royal Park. There is plenty of seating, including on our outdoor terrace, or you can order to takeaway. Grab a hot or cold drink and choose from our selection of sandwiches and cakes – perfect for a picnic in the park.
Visit before 31 May and eat like royalty at the Queen's House Dining Domes, soaking up the views of the River Thames from your exclusive dome.
Visit the Queen's House to see free exhibitions Faces of a Queen and Woburn Treasures, or explore the National Maritime Museum's stunning photography exhibitions Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year and Exposure: Lives at Sea.
From royal gifts to art history, find items from the Tudors To Windsors exhibition gift shop online.
Tickets and Opening
Adult: | £10 |
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Child: | £5 |
10am-5pm
- Greenwich Station
- Cutty Sark DLR
- Maze Hill Station
- Greenwich Pier
Tudors to Windsors at the National Maritime Museum features works by some of the most important artists to have worked in Britain, from court painters Sir Peter Lely and Sir Godfrey Kneller to photographers Cecil Beaton and Annie Leibovitz and artists such as Andy Warhol.
This major exhibition brings together works from the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Museums Greenwich and private collections in a truly landmark collaboration.
#TudorsToWindsors
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The power of portraits
The British royal family has been a source of fascination for hundreds of years.
For much of that time, most ordinary people would never have seen their king or queen in person. For them, the monarch was only seen in paintings that hung in great houses or civic buildings, as public sculpture or, more often, on the coins in their pockets.
It was only from the 16th century that reliable likenesses of kings and queens were produced by painters and sculptors skilled in the new art of portraiture.
Monarchs then had the power to shape and authorise how they were shown. Depending on their personality, the political need and the fashion of the day, the royal portrait could reflect anything from graceful elegance or maternal charm to raw power and extraordinary splendour.
The most successful royal portraits provide insight into the monarch’s character as well as their appearance.
Queen Victoria, Sir George Hayter (© National Portrait Gallery, London)

A royal day out in Greenwich
Greenwich is steeped in royal history.
It was the birthplace of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, is the home of the Royal Observatory founded by Charles II, and at its heart sits the stunning Queen’s House commissioned by Anne of Denmark, consort to James I of England.
Visit Royal Museums Greenwich and discover how royal portraits have been used by successive monarchs to shape the image of monarchy we have today.
Find more exhibitions and events
Organised in partnership with

Supported by Kathryn Uhde
(Main image: Elizabeth II by Dorothy Wilding, hand coloured by Beatrice Johnson, 1952 © National Portrait Gallery, London)