John Hart - Surrey
I recently visited The Queen's Gallery and was surprised to find it looking so new, as it was originally built in the 60s was it not? Has it recently been refurbished?
In 1957, at the instigation of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, it had been decided that the building at the south-western corner of Buckingham Palace, originally designed by Nash as a conservatory, but converted for use as a chapel under Queen Victoria, should become a public gallery for the temporary showing of works from the Royal Collection.
The area had originally been the Private Chapel until it received a direct hit from an enemy bomb in 1940 and remained a ruin since that time.
The inaugural exhibition, Treasures from a Royal Collection, opened in July 1962 and the final exhibition in 1999 presented a selection of drawings by Raphael.
The new Queen's Gallery, built in the same space as the old Gallery, but significantly extended, contains three-and-a-half times as much gallery space as before and incorporates an education room and a lecture theatre. The new Gallery was opened in 2002 to mark The Queen's Golden Jubilee.
A limited competition was held in 1997 to provide designs for the new Gallery, and John Simpson, who had recently completed designs within historic buildings at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, was chosen.
The new Gallery owes much to the work of two early nineteenth-century architects, John Nash and John Soane; both were pioneers in the display of works of art in public and private galleries, and both were employed by the government in the reign of George IV, frequently being obliged to work within existing buildings.
The entrance to the Gallery is a striking Doric portico leading to a magnificent double height entrance gallery and staircase and the elaborate tripartite roof of the Pennethorne Gallery inspired by the work of Nash.
Q: Sikeli - Sydney
Who are the members of the Accession Council and how do they meet?
An Accession Council is called as soon as possible after the death of a Monarch in order to proclaim the new monarch. Thus an Accession Council is a formal meeting or event, rather than a specific group of people.
Members of the House of Lords, the Lord Mayor and aldermen and other leading citizens of the City of London, and the high commissioners in London of member nations of the Commonwealth are also invited to attend. All members of Privy Council are also summoned.
Q: Jonathon Harper - Malaysia
What was the menu at the Italian State Banquet?
The Italian State banquet menu was as follows:
Consommé Hélène
Chicken and tomato consommé with small cheese profiteroles
Loup de Mer Poché Printanière
Poached fillet of sea bass with spring vegetables
Selle d'Agneau de la Nouvelle Saison Farçie aux Herbes
New season saddle of lamb stuffed with herbs
Pommes Nouvelles Persillées
New potatoes with parsley
Carottes Chantenay et Fèves au Beurre
Carrots and broad beans
Panaché de Petites Courges
Green and yellow baby squash
Salade
Pea shoot and baby artichoke salad
Terrine au Chocolat et Vanille
Vanilla and Chocolate Terrine
Dessert Fruit
Pineapple, plums, black and white grapes, tangerines
The wines were as follows:
La Ina, Fino
Puligny-Montrachet, 1er Cru Le Clavaillon, Domaine Leflaive 1998
Allegrini, La Poja 1999
Bollinger, Grande Année 1996
Fonseca 1970
The china used for dining was as follows:
Minton, Sèvres, Meissen, Rockingham for the pudding and dessert courses. The table glass used was English-cut, crystal-fluted style (Stourbridge), made for the coronation in 1953; it is hand-engraved with The Queen's cypher.
Q: Thomas - Canada
I understand that there is usually a gift giving ceremony as part of any State Visit. I would be interested to know what gifts were exchanged during the recent Italian State Visit.
The gift given to the President of the Republic of Italy from The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh during the recent State Visit was
a pair of sterling silver reproduction Charles II goblets with gold washed interior. One is engraved with The Queen's cipher and the other with the Italian Presidential cipher.
The gift given to Signora Ciampi from The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh was a hand crafted jewellery box in a special design by David Linley. It is made out of Swiss Pear with inlays of Ripple Sycamore marking the Royal cipher on the lid.
The gift given to The Queen from the President of the Republic of Italy and Signora Ciampi was a small gold box with blue enamel lid, depicting the Presidential residence, Giardino Pontificio Sul Quirinal.
The gift given to The Duke of Edinburgh from the President of the Republic of Italy and Signora Ciampi was a dark, red leather desk-set, with blotter.
Q: Neil Glick - Washington DC
I was chatting with an Ambassador from a nation where HM The Queen, is the Monarch. I asked if the Ambassador represented HM The Queen, or if it was The Governor General of that country, or the Prime Minister of that country. The question stumped the Ambassador! Can you help?
In realms such as New Zealand and Canada where The Queen is Sovereign, the Governor-General represents the Sovereign; the Governor-General performs the same constitutional role in the country in which he or she serves as The Queen does in the UK.
Ambassadors representing realms overseas (in the UK they are known as high commissioners) represent their countries and their respective governments, not The Queen.
A prime minister or president, including the Prime Minister of Great Britain, would never represent The Queen abroad. As part of The Queen's role, Her Majesty is bound by rules and conventions and remains politically impartial and thus could not be represented by a political figure.
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