The Princess of Wales has visited the newly-opened V&A East Storehouse in East London, where she was given a behind-the-scenes tour and spent time viewing the incredible objects stored there
Kate Middleton visits the V&A storeroom
The Princess of Wales has made a surprise appearance at a brand new cultural attraction, where she was treated to a behind the scenes tour. Kate visited the brand new V&A East Storehouse in East London, where she wore a chic navy suit that exacly matched her host’s own suit in the same colour, to celebrate the joy found in creative expression.
The V&A Storehouse opened just days ago and is said to give unprecendented public access to V&A collections and archives. Wherever possible glass and barriers have been removed to allow visitors to get close to objects than ever before.
During her visit, Kate was given a behind-the-scenes tour by the V&A’s curatorial team to see how the space is a working store, where people collect, research and care for objects now and in the future and also caught a glimpse of the world’s largest Picasso canvas.
She also learned from the curatorial team why objects are collected, and how they are cared for, conserved and displayed. The princess also met with V&A East Storehouse’s new collections access team, who have been recruited locally, and understand the V&A’s goals to make the collections accessible for everyone.
A world-first in size, scale and level of access, V&A East Storehouse promises to immerse visitors in over half a million creative works across every creative discipline: from fashion to film, visual art, design, performance and beyond, giving everyone the opportunity to be able to share in our nation’s creative works that illustrate exceptional talent, craftsmanship and history.
It has been created in partnership with young people and inspired by east London’s creative heritage, and is dedicated to creative opportunity and its power to bring change.
Today’s engagement for Kate is her first official outing since last month when she officially named the Royal Navy warship HMS Glasgow by smashing a bottle of whisky against its hull. She has been gradually returning to royal duties following the completion of her chemotherapy treatment last year following her cancer diagnosis.
On Saturday, she is expected to join the rest of the Royal Family for Trooping the Colour – the King’s official birthday parade.
