Current:Home > MarketsBuckingham Palace's East Wing opens for tours for the first time, and tickets sell out in a day -Keystone Wealth Vision
Buckingham Palace's East Wing opens for tours for the first time, and tickets sell out in a day
View
Date:2025-04-17 03:59:44
London — The room that opens onto Buckingham Palace's famous balcony, from which the royal family can be seen waving to the public below during major events, is opening to the public for tours for the first time this summer after a renovation.
Tour tickets, however, are no longer available. A limited number of "East Wing Highlights" summer tours that were offered this year sold out in one day. Standard adult tickets were priced at about $90 each, and they had to be purchased on top of the standard Buckingham Palace tour ticket, which costs about $50.
Visitors to the Centre Room, which leads out to the famous balcony, in the palace's long closed-off East Wing will be able to see historic artifacts including 18th century imperial Silk wall hangings gifted by Emperor Guangxu of China to Queen Victoria to mark her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
''This room was part of the edition of the East Wing, made by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It was Prince Albert who actually suggested the balcony," said Nicola Turner Inman, curator of decorative arts at Royal Collection Trust. "It was first used in 1851 for the waving off the troops for the Crimean War."
The Royal Collection noted that Prince Albert suggested the balcony be placed on the front of the palace as a way for the royals to be "visible and connect with the public."
People who join the tour will also walk past famous paintings as they make their way through the Principal Corridor, which leads to the Centre Room, and will see the recently restored 18th century Chinese hand-painted wallpaper in the Yellow Drawing Room.
''It's one of our charitable aims to make the collection more widely and publicly accessible. But it's also the wish of His Majesty the King, who is very much wanting to open up the Royal residences," Inman said.
The East Wing is still used by the royal family for events and official meetings.
Inman said renovations of the East Wing were part of a wider "reservicing project," a 10-year upgrade of the London palace's services and amenities.
"At the start of the work in the East Wing in 2018, over 3,500 works of art and other objects were removed to enable the work to take place," the Trust said.
It wasn't immediately clear when, or if, future dates for the East Wing tour would be made available. The Royal Collection Trust said it would first review the trial period.
- In:
- King Charles III
- British Royal Family
- Travel
- Buckingham Palace
- London
veryGood! (32868)
Related
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Extreme heat, wildfire smoke harm low-income and nonwhite communities the most, study finds
- Will the Moody Landfill Fire Ever Be Extinguished? The EPA Isn’t So Sure.
- Wisconsin Supreme Court agrees to hear governor’s lawsuit against GOP-controlled Legislature
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- U.K. bans American XL bully dogs after spate of deadly attacks
- Her son was a school shooter. Now, a jury will decide if Jennifer Crumbley is guilty, too.
- Fani Willis acknowledges a ‘personal relationship’ with prosecutor she hired in Trump’s Georgia case
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Plans for U.S. strikes on Iranian personnel and facilities in Iraq, Syria approved after Jordan drone attack
Ranking
- Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
- Trial date set for white supremacist who targeted Black shoppers at a Buffalo supermarket
- US bolsters defenses around Jordan base as it readies strikes in response to drone attack
- What Iran's leaders and citizens are saying as the U.S. plans strikes on Iranian targets in Iraq and Syria
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Carl Weathers, action star of 'Rocky' movies, 'Predator' and 'The Mandalorian,' dies at 76
- NCAA men's tournament Bracketology: North Carolina hanging onto top seed by a thread
- Starting five: Cameron Brink, Stanford host UCLA in biggest women's game of the weekend
Recommendation
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Brad Pitt to star in Quentin Tarantino's final film 'The Movie Critic': Reports
Apple Vision Pro debuts Friday. Here's what you need to know.
New Mexico Democrats push to criminalize fake electors before presidential vote
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
Groundhog Day 2024 marks 10 years since Bill de Blasio dropped Staten Island Chuck
'Barbie' music producer Mark Ronson opens up about the film's 'bespoke' sound
Jeremy Renner Shares Why He’s “Not Afraid” of Death After Scary Snowplow Accident