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It started with a fire. A big one.
As Queen Elizabeth II watched Windsor Castle burn on the night of 20 November 1992 perhaps she knew there and then that something drastic would need to happen if her unhumble abode — and its 100 now-gutted rooms — was ever to be restored to its former glory. "People say 'well why doesn't the insurance pay?' There is no insurance," said then Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter.
But the Queen and Prince Philip had an idea: Buckingham Palace would open up to the public while they were out of London for eight weeks during summer period, with the proceeds helping raise the required £40m for Windsor Castle's restoration. Until now the only part of the Palace accessible to the hoi polloi were the stables, and even then you had to obtain a permit from the 'Master of the Horse'. But as of 7 August 1993, for an entry fee of £8 (considered by some to be extortionate), the public could now tramp through the Queen's London residence, admiring the chandeliers and Rubens while hoping to catch a glimpse of Fergie nipping in for tea.
Although there was no access to the ballroom or 40-acre garden with its flamingo-stocked lake, tourists immediately went for 'Britain's answer to Versailles'. At 9am on opening day, a queue of almost 1,000 tourists snaked down The Mall. "There's so many couches and everything's like gold and good colours and everything — it's neat," fed back one American kid. "Nobody else has walked through this before," said another satisfied customer, "You felt kind of like the first person on the Moon almost." Another excited visitor said wistfully: "We'll be dreaming about it for a month."
Some of the press were fans, too. "Most impressive," swooned the Daily Express, "they even lay on a glass of Malvern water in the Marble Hall in case you feel faint" (a privilege we are pretty sure has since been rescinded). The famously catty Brian Sewell gave the experience 10/10.
Souvenirs were, in theory, available from the get-go — plates, mugs, books and tasteful £20 silk ties — although Dickie Arbiter says that on a media day on 6 August, 600-odd journalists — many of who had been cynical about the concept of royal souvenirs — had left nothing for the first wave of public visitors: "They cleared the souvenir shop out. They bought everything."
Not all journos were so easily charmed. The Reading Evening Post ran a piece on everything the public wouldn't get to see: "The Queen's bedroom will be strictly out of bounds," it sighed, while Allan Crow of the Glenrothes Gazette had steam coming out of his ears: "I wouldn't offer 50 pence for a private tour and a slap-up meal with the family," he wrote, "Ten years ago, palace staff would have fainted at the very prospect of Camcorder-wielding shell-suited tourists trampling through the hallowed corridors. Today, all they lack is an ice cream tray and a torch to show the visitors through the dark archways." Continued Crow, with blistering 1990s topicality: "It can only be a matter of time before Bart Simpson is spotted wearing a Prince Edward tee-shirt with the slogan 'Under-achiever and proud of it' and Lloyd Grossman hosts a Royal edition of Through the Keyhole."
Crow also suggested that only half of the 8,000 hoped-for visitors had shown up on opening day ("Raith Rovers pulled in more people on Saturday"). If this is true, then the problem didn't last long: within a week of tickets going on sale, all advanced group booking slots had sold out for the next three years.
Buckingham Palace was only ever meant to open to the public for five years in all, but over three decades on, it continues to do so over the summer months. The ballroom is now part of the tour, and as of 2024, so too is the East Wing, including the Centre Room, which leaded out onto the famous balcony (this itself, however remains persona non grata).
The gift shops are still doing a roaring trade, especially now they've bowed to the pressure of selling more casual items, like the bestselling corgi soft toys. Adjusted for inflation, entry to Buckingham Palace in 2025 should be around £17, so for anyone who baulked at 1993's £8 entry fee, today's £42.30 price tag will have them reaching for a restorative glass of Malvern.
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