Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the State Apartments are certainly worth seeing, the Dolls' House may not be worth a long
wait; read the following descriptions and decide (or return at the end of your castle vis-
it; the dollhouse line tends to ease up at the end of the day). You can see the Drawings
Gallery and the China Museum either way.
Queen Mary's Dolls' House:
This palace in miniature (1:12 scale, from 1924) is “the
most famous dollhouse in the world.” It was a gift for Queen Mary (the wife of King Ge-
orge V, and the current Queen's grandmother), who greatly enjoyed miniatures, when she
was already a fully grown adult. It's basically one big, dimly lit room with the large doll-
house in the middle, executed with an astonishing level of detail. Each fork, knife, and
spoon on the expertly set banquet table is perfect and made of real silver—and the tiny
pipes of its plumbing system actually have running water. But you're kept a few feet away
by a glass wall, and are constantly jostled by fellow sightseers in this crowded space, mak-
ing it difficult to fully appreciate. Unless you're a dollhouse devotee, it's probably not
worth waiting a half hour for a five-minute peek at this, but if the line is short it's defin-
itely worth a look.
Drawings Gallery and China Museum:
Positioned at the exit of the Dolls' House,
this collects a changing array of pieces from the Queen's collection—usually including
some big names, such as Michelangelo and Leonardo. The China Museum features items
from the Queen's many exquisite settings for royal shindigs.
