https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/london/RSS feed for LondonenThu, 27 Aug 2026 14:34:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/freddie-mercurys-boundary-pushing-costumes-take-center-stage-at-victoria-and-albert-museum-to-mark-80th-anniversary-his-birth-180989403/Eight ensembles from the Queen frontman's career will be displayed across six stops in the London museum's permanent galleries, offering a glimpse into the clothes behind his legendary stage personaThu, 27 Aug 2026 14:34:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/freddie-mercurys-boundary-pushing-costumes-take-center-stage-at-victoria-and-albert-museum-to-mark-80th-anniversary-his-birth-180989403/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/closed-to-public-since-wwii-hidden-gallery-at-london-natural-history-museum-opens-doors-once-again-180989380/Animal skeletons, Neolithic tools and pop culture memorabilia are among the dozens of objects to be displayed in the reopened “Nature and Us” exhibitionMon, 24 Aug 2026 17:18:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/closed-to-public-since-wwii-hidden-gallery-at-london-natural-history-museum-opens-doors-once-again-180989380/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-should-the-bayeux-tapestry-end-new-a-competition-invites-childresn-to-reimagine-its-missing-final-panel-180989366/Some historians think the 230-foot-long artwork is missing its final panel, which may have once depicted William the Conqueror's coronation. As the tapestry goes on view in London, students will be drafting endings of their ownThu, 20 Aug 2026 15:50:43 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-should-the-bayeux-tapestry-end-new-a-competition-invites-childresn-to-reimagine-its-missing-final-panel-180989366/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-divers-discovered-a-162-year-old-bottle-of-guinness-brewed-during-the-reign-of-queen-victoria-and-they-want-to-take-a-swig-180989320/The beer was preserved in a sealed glass bottle and may be safe to sample. The team is also hoping to sequence the DNA of the yeast to recreate what the stout would have tasted like in the 19th centuryWed, 12 Aug 2026 17:28:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shipwreck-divers-discovered-a-162-year-old-bottle-of-guinness-brewed-during-the-reign-of-queen-victoria-and-they-want-to-take-a-swig-180989320/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/art-sleuths-discovered-a-long-lost-and-enormously-important-portrait-of-an-elite-indian-woman-by-this-pioneering-scottish-painter-180989201/Katherine Read was one of the most fashionable portrait creators in London before she moved to India. She found success portraying women and childrenMon, 27 Jul 2026 17:33:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/art-sleuths-discovered-a-long-lost-and-enormously-important-portrait-of-an-elite-indian-woman-by-this-pioneering-scottish-painter-180989201/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wacky-mysterious-paintings-by-this-surrealist-still-influence-contemporary-artists-an-exhibition-in-london-will-explore-the-legacy-of-rene-magritte-180989181/The Belgian Surrealist was famous for his playful subversion, like when he created a painting of a pipe and then defiantly declared it wasn’t a pipe, after allThu, 23 Jul 2026 17:34:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wacky-mysterious-paintings-by-this-surrealist-still-influence-contemporary-artists-an-exhibition-in-london-will-explore-the-legacy-of-rene-magritte-180989181/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/british-intelligence-turned-this-mansion-into-a-bugged-spy-trap-for-nazi-prisoners-of-war-during-world-war-ii-180989166/Visitors can now tour the house, where German generals relaxed and gabbed upstairs while Jewish refugees working as spies and translators for the British government listened in from the basementWed, 22 Jul 2026 00:59:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/british-intelligence-turned-this-mansion-into-a-bugged-spy-trap-for-nazi-prisoners-of-war-during-world-war-ii-180989166/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-volunteer-stumbled-upon-a-strange-document-in-the-uk-national-archives-it-turned-out-to-be-a-rare-copy-of-the-declaration-of-independence-printed-in-july-1776-180989169/Michael Scurr, a retired insurance broker, found the text while cataloging boxes of 18th-century correspondence housed at the London archives. It's the only known copy of its kind outside the United StatesTue, 21 Jul 2026 19:23:31 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-volunteer-stumbled-upon-a-strange-document-in-the-uk-national-archives-it-turned-out-to-be-a-rare-copy-of-the-declaration-of-independence-printed-in-july-1776-180989169/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-tower-of-london-plans-to-turn-its-moat-into-a-green-classroom-and-show-off-its-architecture-archive-in-a-major-renovation-180989161/The landmark, nearly a millennium old, has housed kings, hosted royal executions and safeguarded Britain's crown jewels. New education centers aim to invite more people to learn about that historyMon, 20 Jul 2026 21:36:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-tower-of-london-plans-to-turn-its-moat-into-a-green-classroom-and-show-off-its-architecture-archive-in-a-major-renovation-180989161/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/buckingham-palaces-royal-picture-gallery-revives-the-salon-style-hang-doubling-the-number-of-masterpieces-on-view-180989135/Charles III reportedly had a say in the stylistic switch, which rearranged and added artworks by the likes of Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer and Van DyckThu, 16 Jul 2026 18:13:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/buckingham-palaces-royal-picture-gallery-revives-the-salon-style-hang-doubling-the-number-of-masterpieces-on-view-180989135/