LONDON.- Her Majesty The Queen has appointed Mr Tim Knox to succeed Mr Jonathan Marsden as Director of the Royal Collection. As Director, Mr Knox will be responsible for the care of the Royal Collection and its presentation to the public, and for the management of the public opening of the official residences of The Queen.

Tim Knox has been Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge since April 2013. An eminent architectural historian and curator of country houses, he was previously Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum and Head Curator at the National Trust. A graduate of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Tim's early career was spent at the Royal Institute of British Architects, before he joined the National Trust in 1995. He will take up the Royal Collection directorship in March 2018.

Tim Knox said, 'It is a great honour to be asked to be the next Director of the Royal Collection. I look forward to building upon the tremendous achievements of my predecessors in this role, and to working with the people who care for this national treasure. What excites me most is that the Royal Collection is a living collection with an extraordinary sense of historical continuity, still used and displayed in royal residences all over Britain.'

The Royal Collection, held in trust by The Queen for her successors and the nation, comprises almost all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, runs to more than a million objects and is spread among some 15 royal residences and former residences across the UK. The Collection is also shown in the exhibition programme at The Queen’s Galleries in London and Edinburgh, at museums and galleries across the country, and through loans to exhibitions around the world.

Jonathan Marsden joined the Royal Household in 1996 as Deputy Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art. He became Director and Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art in 2010.

Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse and Trustee of The Royal Collection Trust, said, 'Tim Knox will bring with him a wealth of curatorial and leadership experience from his time at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Sir John Soane's Museum, both of which have enjoyed great success under his directorship.

Jonathan's eight-year directorship has seen an expansion of activity in all areas of The Trust's work, including conservation, scholarly publishing, the digitisation of the Collection, learning programmes and touring exhibitions. In recent years Jonathan led the master-planning exercise at Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse that concluded in the launch of Future Programme, which will transform the visitor experience at both Palaces by 2019.'