The East Wing of Buckingham Palace will open to the public for the first time this summer.
Special tours led by expert guides will take visitors through the Principal Floor of the East Wing — better known as the world-famous facade of the Palace, which overlooks The Mall. Perhaps most exciting is the chance to visit the Centre Room, the space which leads out onto the balcony where the Royals make public appearances on special occasions. (Note that stepping out onto the balcony itself during the tours is likely to be a big no-no).
The East Wing was added onto the Palace in the 1840s at the request of Queen Victoria, who made use of it along with Prince Albert and their children. Some of the rooms boast Chinese-themed décor, due to the fact that the Asian-style Royal Pavilion in Brighton was sold to pay for its construction, and some of the artefacts relocated from Brighton to London as a result. Look out for nine-tiered Chinese porcelain pagodas, and the Kylin Clock, which incorporates two turquoise Chinese lions.
In addition to the Centre Room, the guided tours visit the Principal Corridor, which runs the length of the Wing and houses paintings by artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Thomas Lawrence and Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and the Yellow Drawing Room. Today's Royal Family uses the rooms of the wing for meetings and official events.
Why now? Five years of improvement works have just been undertaken in the East Wing, "to upgrade the historic building’s infrastructure, improve access and preserve it for future generations". Though with news that parts of Balmoral Castle are also opening to the public for the first time this summer, one could wonder whether the Royals are feeling the financial pinch and having to diversify their revenue streams.
East Wing Highlights Tours are in addition to the summer opening of the State Rooms, which has taken place most years since the 1990s, often with special themed exhibitions. Here's what that looked like in summer 2019:
The Buckingham Palace State Rooms are open 11 July-29 September 2024. East Wing Highlights Tours are available in July and August, starting 15 July. Tickets for the East Wing go on sale on 9 April to Royal Collection Trust email subscribers, and the following day for everyone else.
