On 25 April Her Majesty The Queen
officially opened the National Maritime Museum's new exhibition,
Royal River: Power, Pageantry and the Thames. After a visit to the newly re-opened
Cutty Sark, Her Majesty and our Patron HRH The Duke of Edinburgh had a tour of the exhibition, which looks at 500 years of royal history along London's river.
Royal River is part of the celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and marks the 75th anniversary of the National Maritime Museum, which was opened by King George VI on 27 April 1937. The then Princess Elizabeth attended the opening of the Museum as a birthday treat, having recently turned eleven. It was the young princess's first public engagement. The Museum's opening was only the new King's second official public engagement since ascending the throne. Film footage of the 1937 opening is featured in the exhibition, alongside his Admiral of the Fleet uniform.
