East Wing of Buckingham Palace to open for public tours for the first time
Release date: Thursday 11 July 2024
Buckingham Palace has opened for the annual Summer Opening of the State Rooms, during which almost 6,000 people will enjoy guided tours of the Palace’s East Wing, open to the public for the first time since it was completed 175 years ago.
The East Wing encompasses the famous façade of the Palace and features the iconic central balcony, where the Monarch and members of the Royal Family have gathered for public appearances since 1851, most recently for Trooping the Colour in June.
From Monday 15 July, small groups of visitors led by expert guides will tour a series of rooms on the East Wing’s Principal Floor, which have never been accessible to the public before. These include the Centre Room, from which visitors will have a view of the balcony, the Yellow Drawing Room, and the 240-foot-long Principal Corridor, which spans the entire width of the Palace.
The East Wing was added to the Palace between 1847 and 1849 to provide space for Queen Victoria’s growing family. The build of the wing was financed through the sale of the Royal Pavilion, George IV’s seaside retreat in Brighton. The Pavilion’s contents – which reflected the King’s love of Asian art and design – were subsequently transferred to the East Wing, inspiring the Chinese-themed décor of its principal rooms. Prince Albert personally oversaw the decoration of the new wing, and the balcony was added at his suggestion.
Access has been made possible this year due to the conclusion of more than five years of improvement works to the East Wing. These essential works are part of the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme to upgrade the historic building’s infrastructure, improve access and preserve it for future generations.
The temporary removal of Royal Collection items from the East Wing provided the opportunity for an extensive programme of conservation work to be carried out. The Centre Room’s spectacular glass chandelier, shaped to resemble a lotus flower, has recently been restored, and the Yellow Drawing Room’s 18th-century, hand-painted Chinese wallpaper was removed and painstakingly cleaned and conserved, before being reinstated.
Visitors with a standard ticket for the Palace’s State Rooms will have the opportunity to tour the 19 magnificent rooms used by members of the Royal Family for official entertaining, furnished with some of the finest works of art from the Royal Collection. In July and August, for the first time in five years, the State Rooms will be open to the public seven days a week.
In the Ballroom, visitors will see the recently unveiled portrait of His Majesty The King by Jonathan Yeo, commissioned by William Charnley on behalf of the Drapers’ Company. Another addition to the tour this year is the Australian State Coach, usually housed in the Royal Mews, which is on display in the Palace’s Grand Entrance Portico.
A visit to the State Rooms can be combined with a Garden Highlights Tour, which incorporates areas of the Garden not usually seen by the public. This year, family-friendly Garden Highlights Tours are also available, specifically designed for families with young children.
A Royal Day Out ticket provides discounted admission to all three venues at Buckingham Palace: the State Rooms, the Royal Mews, and The King’s Gallery, where this summer visitors can learn the stories behind some of the most celebrated photographs ever taken of the Royal Family in the exhibition Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography.
