Historic Royal Palaces Collections

Our collections include more than 60,000 objects relating to the history of the palaces and the lives of those who have lived within them. They cover many periods of history from the medieval to the 21st-century, and include archaeology, architectural decoration and features, fixings and fittings, fine and decorative art, social history, furniture and furnishings, books and manuscripts.

Discover more about some of our collections.

A significant collection

The diverse nature of the objects in our collection reflects the fact that the palaces have been lived in or constantly used for over 1000 years. Some of the objects in the decorative arts and social history collection have been acquired to furnish rooms to improve visitors' understanding of life in the palaces. Many have also been acquired to tell the stories of the people that lived in the palaces. A few of the objects have been left behind by former residents. A good example are the items from Apartment 23 at Hampton Court Palace which belonged to Lady Manning who occupied that apartment from 1935 to 1992. They form the core of an internationally significant collection of social history objects.