Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle are opening their doors to the public for never-before-visited rooms

Notice to fans of the British Royal Family and other curious people, it is now possible to visit previously unseen rooms at Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle. The palace has been open to the public since 1993, when Queen Elizabeth opened its doors to raise funds after the devastating fire that destroyed Windsor Castle in 1992. But this summer, the East Wing will be available to visit for the first time. It is there, for example, that the King filmed his Christmas speech in December 2023. According to a statement from the Royal Collection Trust, this Wednesday, April 3, this section will also be accessible from the main floor after five. years of restoration work. The tour includes a stop in the hall where members of the British royal family gather before heading out onto the palace’s famous balcony, where they greet the public after major events such as coronations, jubilees and the annual ceremony. A tour of the East Wing will also include visiting rooms used by members of the royal family for meetings and official events. For the first time since 2019, the Palais will be open seven days a week in July and August, before returning to five days a week in September. This summer, starting July 15, there will be daily tours of the East Wing in addition to standard admission to Buckingham’s State Rooms.

Balmoral Castle

In addition to Buckingham Palace, Charles III also created an event, providing access to some areas of Balmoral Castle for the first time. Balmoral is known as the summer retreat of the Scottish Highland royal family and the place where Queen Elizabeth was “happiest”, according to her granddaughter Princess Eugenie. First of all, this is where the monarch died on September 8, 2022.

Until now, visits to the castle were limited to the gardens and ballrooms. As explained on the monument’s website, “for the first time since the completion of the castle in 1855” it is now possible to take part in private guided tours. A ‘historic journey’ opportunity to ‘discover some of the magnificent rooms of Balmoral Castle’. These exclusive tours will be available from July 1st to August 4th and are limited to 10 people per tour. Total tours currently cost about $126 per person, including tickets tea time costs about $189 and is for adults only. A tour of Balmoral includes viewing of King Charles’ art collection as well as royal clothing. The ballroom also houses the King’s collection of watercolors depicting landscapes of Balmoral, Highgrove and Sandringham, as well as clothing collections of Charles and Camilla as well as Elizabeth II.