Overview
- Queen Camilla made her first visit to the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh on Tuesday, touring the Chaos and Control: Printmaking in Scotland Now exhibition, cutting a commemorative cake and signing the visitors’ book.
- During the visit she said she hoped King Charles might one day bring some of his personal paintings to the RSA, a suggestion the academy’s president, Gareth Fisher, welcomed by saying the gallery would “love to” display his Scottish landscapes.
- The Queen spoke directly with established and emerging artists at the show and joked that she lacked the painting talent of the King and the late Prince Philip while saying she enjoyed viewing other people’s work.
- The trip forms a central part of the RSA’s 200th anniversary programme and reflects Camilla’s role as patron of the Friends of the Royal Scottish Academy.
- The public suggestion of a royal loan could lead to future exhibitions of the King’s work in Edinburgh and it frames Royal Week as a mix of ceremonial duties and active cultural engagement, following the day’s Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.