Escher in the Palace one's eyes will be tricked by multiple interactive displays. In the rooms of the museum are fifteen chandeliers made by the Rotterdam artist, Hans van Bentem. The artist designed these especially for the museum, with some references to the work of Escher and the Palace. In the ballroom, a star chandelier is endlessly reflected in the two mirrors. In other rooms there are chandeliers such as a shark, a skull, spiders, and a sea horse. The parquet floor in the Palace was designed in 1991/92 by the American minimal artist Donald Judd on the occasion of the opening of the
George Cross to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians including police, emergency services and merchant seamen. Many of the awards have been personally presented by the British monarch to both recipients and in the case of posthumous awards to next of kin. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The George Cross was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of the Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage. The existing awards open to civilians were not judged suitable to