DETAILS of the first major art gallery to house the Royal Collection outside Buckingham Palace, which will allow some of the Queens' greatest art works to be shown for the first time, were unveiled yesterday. The �3 million gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse will show drawings by Old Masters currently stored at Windsor Castle. They include Michelangelo's The Risen Christ and Leonardo's study for St James the Greater in the Last Supper.

Many have been unsuitable for exhibitions as strict conditions are required to prevent damage. The Queen's Gallery, Edinburgh, due to open in autumn 2002 to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, will have the latest technology to monitor temperature and humidity.

The gallery, which will overlook the Scottish Parliament building, will alternate exhibitions with the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace, which is undergoing a �13 million refurbishment and has previously shown some of the works kept at Windsor.

Conversions to the former Holyrood Free Church, built in 1850 by Queen Victoria, and Duchess of Gordon's School in the most westerly corner of the palace, will provide exhibition space.