Keep your eye on the ball

Heirs and Graces: A History of the Modern ...

With a strength of character that belied her fragile looks, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun pushed the boundaries of royal portraiture and, after the French Revolution, challenged the loss of female influence via every frill and fold in her work

This autumn, the V&A unveils a captivating exhibition dedicated to Marie Antoinette, the ill-fated French queen whose brief yet eventful life continues to bewitch audiences and fuel the creative imagination. Marie-Claire Chappet traces her enduring influence on culture and fashion

Arundel Castle, West Sussex

Home to carriages, coachmen and craftspeople, Buckingham Palace’s Royal Mews is a village in the heart of London. Matthew Dennison takes a look behind the stable doors of this great institution as it marks its 200th birthday

Marie Antoinette’s passion for furniture and genius for bagatelles, however evanescent their purpose, filled the French royal palaces with beauty and charm, as Matthew Dennison reveals