The Princess of Wales opens the Young V&A

Published 28 June 2023

The Princess of Wales, Patron of the V&A, officially opened the Young V&A (formerly known as the V&A Museum of Childhood), ahead of its opening to the public on Saturday 1st July 2023.

The Princess of Wales visits the young V&A

The museum is dedicated to children and young people aged 0-14 and following a three-year transformation, will be a world leading museum of design and creativity.

Local schoolchildren, parents and teachers played a critical role in the project, participating in co-design and co-production workshops in which they worked with the architects and Young V&A team to reconceive how the building could be used, designed key architectural features, contributed ideas for the displays and exhibition programme and participated in making new commissions for the galleries.

The Princess of Wales at the Young V&A

Young V&A houses three new galleries called Play, Imagine, and Design. Each has been conceived for specific age groups, from babies to teens, with nearly 2000 objects from the V&A’s collections presented in new and playful ways, designed to inspire children’s own creativity.

At the museum, The Princess of Wales was given a tour of the building by schoolchildren who were part of the project. Her Royal Highness first visited the Play Gallery, a sensory landscape for toddlers inspired by the way infants experience the world. Whilst in the gallery, The Princess met children and heard about how the gallery is dedicated to the development of language, motor skills, and constructive play, before visiting The Arcade, a space designed for teenagers which explores the history and process of video and boardgame design.

Following this, Her Royal Highness visited the Design Gallery, a space which showcases how innovative objects are designed and how design has the power to make a positive impact on the world. With a working studio that houses Young V&A’s Designer in Residence and a Studio space, the gallery will also provide workshops and sessions for young people to escape and create, as well as inspire the designers of tomorrow.

The Princess of Wales visits the young V&A

In the Imagine Gallery, The Princess engaged with children about the different activities they have been taking part in at the museum. The gallery includes a variety of spaces to inspire creative expression through performance, storytelling, imagination, and community. At the heart of the gallery is The Stage, a new dedicated performance space featuring objects from the V&A’s renowned Theatre and Performance Collection, where children can also enjoy dressing up and performing their own shows.

Related content

The King's speech at the State Banquet for the Republic of Korea

As our nations strive towards a harmony between progress and preservation, between the past and the present, we can look to the future with great confidence as our peoples...

21 November 2023

The Queen's speech at the Foreign Press Association Awards 2023

Yours is an awe-inspiring responsibility: you question, debate and analyse and thus protect what is so easy for us to take for granted – true freedom of expression.

20 November 2023

The Queen's speech at The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition 2023

Well done to each and every one of you – you are quite brilliant and I have, as ever, enormously enjoyed reading your entries.

16 November 2023
News

The King turns 75

14 November 2023
The King
News

Remembrance 2023

09 November 2023
The King salutes The Cenotaph

Remarks by His Majesty The King at the United Nations Office Nairobi, Kenya

As we look ahead to COP twenty-eight in another months time, we must remember what President Ruto said at the Africa Climate Summit – “we go far when we go together”.

01 November 2023
Press release November 2023

The King will attend COP28 UAE

Read more

A Speech by His Majesty The King at the State Banquet, Kenya

We both take considerable pride in renewing the ties between the United Kingdom and Kenya, a country that has long held such special meaning for my family.

31 October 2023
Press release 30 October 2023

The Duchess of Edinburgh visits Canada

Read more
News

State Visit to Kenya

03 November 2023
The King and Queen at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage
Press release 11 October 2023

The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to Kenya

Read more
Press release 09 October 2023

The Duchess of Edinburgh visits Ethiopia

Read more
Press release 26 September 2023

State Visit by the President of the Republic of Korea

Read more