The myth of marie antoinette

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

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

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

Dua Lipa wears Givenchy by Sarah Burton and ...

The ‘Mona Lisa of manuscripts’, finally on view

Founded in the 18th century to launch the daughters of the aristocracy into Society, Queen Charlotte’s Ball has been revived and modernised for a new generation. Eleanor Doughty finds out what’s changed–and what hasn’t