Buckingham Palace: The Interiors
Buckingham Palace: The Interiors book cover

Buckingham Palace: The Interiors

Hardcover – Illustrated, September 25, 2018

Price
$43.49
Format
Hardcover
Pages
256
Publisher
Rizzoli
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0847863198
Dimensions
9.7 x 1 x 12.6 inches
Weight
4.1 pounds

Description

"We’ve seen a lot of the exterior of Buckingham Palace, from Queen Elizabeth’s addresses to various royal baby announcements, but rarely do we get such an intimate look at its interiors. Designer Ashley Hicks takes us inside the palace for a look atxa0where we get a tour of the truly sumptuous rooms (the White Drawing Room, the Throne Room, the Picture Gallery) in Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian styles that span the monarchs." — New York Magazine "Royal watchers, history buffs and interior design aficionados alike will enjoy this look at the iconic home of Britain’s royal family. Interior designerxa0Ashley Hicksxa0(a grandson of Lord Mountbatten and brother ofxa0 lifestyle entrepreneurxa0India Hicks, who was a bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana) presents his own photographs of the castle’s staterooms, hallways and galleries, and describes the décor and the esteemed history of each. This lavish volume underscores the magnificence of these spaces and provides a strong measure of majesty for readers (especially those who, like me, are anxiously waiting for Season 3 ofxa0The Crownxa0to air)." — Design NJ "Art publishing in 2018 produced a variety of interesting possibilities for the art lover on your Christmas list. Any fan of the British royal family will love Buckingham Palace " — Marina Times "Being Prince Philip's godson comes with some perks. In his coffee table book,xa0Buckingham Palace: The Interiors, designer Ashley Hicks takes readers inside the royal residence with photos of rooms rarely seen by the public."xa0—TOWN & COUNTRY Ashley Hicks is a British author, architect, interior and furniture designer, and photographer. He is the son of Lady Pamela Hicks and the legendary decorator David Hicks.

Features & Highlights

  • Interior designer and artist Ashley Hicks presents his photographs and description of the interior design of Buckingham Palace, home of Britain's royal family since 1837. An important representation of Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian styles, the palace is the work of such noted architects as John Nash and Sir Aston Webb. Hicks records the formal spaces with vibrancy, capturing the magnificent rooms furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection.
  • Starting at the Grand Staircase, Hicks leads us through the state rooms, which include the White Drawing Room and the Blue Drawing Room that both overlook the palace gardens; the Ballroom, which is the setting for twenty investiture ceremonies each year; and the Throne Room, used by Queen Victoria for spectacular costume balls in the 1840s. The long, skylit Picture Gallery is hung with important works of art from the Royal Collection by Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Nicolas Poussin, Anthony van Dyck, Johannes Vermeer, and Canaletto, among others. Decorative furnishings from George IV's exotic Brighton Pavilion lend a fanciful turn to many of the rooms.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(217)
★★★★
25%
(90)
★★★
15%
(54)
★★
7%
(25)
-7%
(-25)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Artsy Photos

I liked the balance of text & photos, which was mostly large photos with just a little bit of description. The pictures are big and the quality of the printed photos was good. However, I did not care for the photographer's style, which I call "Artsy". Quite a few images have "off center" subjects & numerous images have such shallow Depth of Field, that only a small portion of the image was actually in focus. There was a picture of a famous Sevres vase that was so far off center that the the entire vase wasn't even in the image; it was partially chopped off. Yikes!!

The purpose of photos of a palace interior isn't to create artsy images for an art gallery; it is to record the reality of the architecture & furnishings. I was somewhat disappointed.
17 people found this helpful
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Annoying photographs

While some of the photographs in this book do great justice to the interior of this palace, a large number of these photographs cut off what ever they are portraying - for example, the photograph of a vase on p. 54 is off center and and doesn't' show the left part of the vase; too many photographs are of objects so up close the photograph loses all context; practically every photograph of a painting has some part of the painting cut off and missing. Churchill famously said that he read only for profit or pleasure; to me these weird photographs are annoying and not at all a pleasure to view. Back to Amazon you go!
16 people found this helpful
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Historical & Beautiful

This is one of the most beautiful books in my historical laibrary. I wish the auther told more on some of the wonderful furniture shown. The photos are just fabulous.
15 people found this helpful
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Exceptional

Best photography I’ve seen of the Palace interiors, with very informative text. Superb book.
10 people found this helpful
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Not the greatest

I was disappointed that there wasn't more photos of the workings of the palace. I understand that the Queen restricted where photographer could go but wanted to see more. Strictly museum photos.
7 people found this helpful
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Photos are spectacular.

This is an awesome book. I love that there is a bit of history to go along with the stunning photos. Makes me want to go to London to see for myself.
6 people found this helpful
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Crown fans this is for you!

I purchased this as a Christmas gift.
It was a total hit! It's a detailed book about Buckingham Palace. I read an article that suggested if you know a fan of the Netflix show, The Crown they would love this.
Well, I knew a fan and they did LOVE it!
4 people found this helpful
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Sm

Absolutely awesome the pictures are great. It was packaged very well. I would order from this seller again.
4 people found this helpful
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The photos and text were superb.

I appreciated most the fact that the photos and text were done by relative of Prince Phillip which means that he probably had access to many things others would not have had.
2 people found this helpful
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Relive the Stateroom Tour

This is a really good book. It’s closely aligned with the Stateroom tour. So if you toured the palace and want excellent pictures to remember the experience, this is the book for you!
2 people found this helpful