Buckingham Palace reveals secrets behind 'incredibly rich' Royal Collection

Buckingham Palace is lifting the curtain on the royal family’s incredible collection of art, books, and more.

King Charles’ team is going all out with preparations ahead of U.S. president Donald Trump’s state visit to the U.K. from September 16 to September 18. During this time, Donald and his wife Melania Trump will stay with King Charles at Windsor Castle.

In the lead-up to the big visit, the royal family’s official Instagram account has been sharing glimpses into how the estate is prepared for hosting. One of the major itineraries during any state visit is an exhibition featuring hand-picked items from The Royal Collection.

Royal librarian and Assistant Keeper of the Royal Archives Stella Panayotova explains what goes behind the selection process: “For every state visit, we select material and prepare an exhibition. We are spoiled for choice, the collections are incredibly rich. We’re looking for historically significant material, intellectually enticing, sparkling material, and of course visually appealing, beautiful things.”

The selection includes anything from books to artworks, so long as they have some sort of “personal connections” to the visiting country.

Panayotova explained, “The exhibition tries to create a sense of a shared past, which is of course the most solid foundation for building understanding and common ground for the present.”

Apart from the Exhibition, preparations have also been underway in the Royal kitchen for the famous state banquet.

Meanwhile, the Royal Mews is busy preparing their horses and carriages to transport the visiting Head of State in style to the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle.