Whether it is adding contemporary paintings to a gallery of Old Masters or branching out into territories as diverse as Modernist chairs, Iranian tiles or Churchill memorabilia, the passion for collecting seems to run in some families, as Eleanor Doughty discovers

Edward VII swept away the cobwebs of mid-Victorian style, Queen Mary had passion for all things small and the Queen Mother bought rather avant-garde art. In a forthcoming talk, Tim Knox, director of the Royal Collection, charts a century of regal taste

West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire, part II The seat of Sir Edward Dashwood, Bt A property of the National Trust In the second of two articles, John Goodall looks at the sources of inspiration behind the design for this magnificently idiosyncratic house

The Story of Tudor Art: A History of Tudor ...

After a seven-year stint living in New York, Hanna and Richard Litchfield decided the time was right to head home to the UK with their two young sons, James and Felix. They initially relocated back to

Lee Miller threw herself into life, dancing at Surrealist balls, taking fashion to Blitz-torn streets and dreaming up blue-spaghetti recipes, all the time intoxicating men and fighting inner demons, as Mary Miers reveals