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Family Days Out: Getting Regal with Maharajas at the V&A Museum

by Rhonda Carrier

If you’re thinking of India as a winter sun destination for you and the kids, why not get into the spirit by visiting the new “Maharaja: the Splendour of India’s Royal Courts” exhibition at the wonderful Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington. Running until mid January 2010, it takes an in-depth look at the splendour of Indian royal life from the 18th century to the mid 20th century, when the modern states of India and Pakistan subsumed the royal territories.

Among the 250-plus items on display are a life-size model of an elephant in procession, glittering turban-jewels and gem-encrusted weaponry, a throne and even a vintage Rolls Royce, plus photographs by the likes of Man Ray and Cecil Beaton.

Tickets cost £11–12.60 for adults; under-18s go free. As always at the family-friendly V&A, there is a lively program of events complementing the exhibition, including the Majestic Maharajas Free Art Fun Festival on Sunday 1st Nov, with dressing-up in saris and turbans, courtly games, dance and music workshops, a Ramayana puppet show, and a royal procession through the museum. For more details and other events, see the V&A’s own exhibition micro-site.

If you’re visiting the British capital and need a family-friendly place to stay, see our London destination page.

Other feature articles by Rhonda

• Amsterdam With Young Kids)
• Sunparks Zandvoort, Netherlands )
• Family fun in London this Christmas)
• Fun or Learning, or Both?)
• Florence with Young Kids)
• Halloween French-Style)
• The Chain Game)
• The Big Draw 2009)
• A Mum's Break in London)
• Roald Dahl Day and Beyond)
• An Indian Summer and Exciting Autumn at British Themeparks)
• Gastronomic Adventures in Tuscany)
• A Checklist of Family Travel Essentials)
• Winter Sun on a Budget)
• In the Footsteps of Roald Dahl in the Chilterns)
• Late Summer Festivals)
• Mexican Magic at the British Museum)
• Nature’s Bounty)
• Home or Away?)
• A Five-Star Family Break in the South of France)
• Sun Protection Awareness The Facts)
• Post baby)
• Morecambe Bay – A Taste of the Great British Seaside)
• Babymoons)
• Eureka Museum)
• Chill Factore, Manchester)
• The Clos Lucé, Loire Valley)
• Newby Hall, Yorkshire)
• Latitude Festival)
• The National Space Centre (Leicester) and Spaceport (Wirral))
• Disneyland with Young Kids)
• Mother's Day With or Without the Family)
• The Year of the Comic Strip, Brussels)
• Belt tightening family holiday ideas)
• Darwin 200th Birthday Celebrations)
• To ski or not to ski)
• Family Breaks With, Without and For the Kids)
• La Cucina Caldesi - 'The Italian Cookery School')
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• Motor-homing)
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• The 5 best summer music festivals)
• Forest Parks, Kids Bookshops and Football)
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