Buckingham Palace – Making The Most Of Your Visit

Buckingham Palace is The King’s official London residence and an amazing place to visit for a glimpse into monarchy past, present and future.

From the Changing of the Guard, to the Royal Mews, The King’s Gallery (formerly The Queen’s Gallery), and the State Rooms, there is much more to this iconic palace than meets the eye.

Buckingham Palace State Rooms

The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace open each summer for tours – 11th July until 29th September are the dates for 2024. At the time of writing, self-guided tours with an audio guide included are still available to book on the Royal Collection Trust website. Small group, private tours (in groups limited to 30 people) are also available on selected dates in 2024. Visit The Royal Collection Trust to find out more. These tours fill up fast so if you want to go, do subscribe to the Trust’s newsletter to learn the tour dates immediately they are released.

There is always something new to see when you visit Buckingham Palace, and many years there is a special exhibition. This year you can see the new portrait of King Charles III in the Ballroom. Most years the tour of the State Rooms includes many rooms you may recognise from pictures and news reports you have seen. Walking up the Grand Staircase always gives me a thrill.

There’s the Music Room, with its beautiful blue scagliola columns between arched mirrors and doorways, where both HRH Prince Charles and Prince William were Christened, the magnificent Throne Room, and my favourite room, The White Drawing Room. Members of the Royal Family can appear as if by magic at receptions in this room. See if you can spot the hidden door disguised as a mirror and a cabinet when you visit. It’s often helpfully left just a tiny bit ajar so you can find it easily.

I have been on three of the after hours tours at Buckingham Palace and two at Windsor Castle in the past and can highly recommend them. On one memorable occasion, we drank champagne in The Bow Room after a private tour – it was one of those ‘pinch me’ moments! Touring during the public opening of the Buckingham Palace State Rooms is more crowded and after the relaxed small group tour of the East Wing this year, I found the public State Rooms self-guided tour almost claustrophobic at times. As I have visited so many times before I went through quite quickly in an attempt to avoid the very crowded bits. However if you book self-guided tours in the early morning or later in the afternoon it may be quieter, or consider an after hours tour. The latter is more expensive but definitely worthwhile in my opinion.

Sign up to the mailing list at The Royal Collection Trust to stay up to date.

The East Wing

Since 2017, the Royal Household has been undertaking a 10 year reservicing programme to update the plumbing, wiring and pipes in the palace, many of which date back to the 1940’s and 50’s, in order to protect the building and its contents. Work on the East Wing of the Palace (the front wing that faces The Mall) is very nearly completed.

This summer (2024), for the first time since it was finished for Queen Victoria 175 years ago, the East Wing is open to members of the public for special small group tours. Unfortunately the tours are sold out at the moment, but you can subscribe to the mailing list I linked to above to find out about future opportunities to visit.

I recently visited the East Wing on one of these tours, which was definitely worth its £75 price tag. (This price also includes a self-guided public tour of the State Rooms after the small group East Wing tour.) The friendly guide was knowledgeable and entertaining and I learned a great deal.

The style of decoration in the East Wing is largely Chinoiserie as many of the interiors, from the wallpaper and curtains to the furniture, were taken from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. The Royal Pavilion was pleasure palace built by George IV. Although Queen Victoria loved it, it was very hard for her to get any privacy there, so when she needed funds for the building of the East Wing, selling The Royal Pavilion was a sensible decision for her. Before it was sold, all of the fixtures and fittings, including the wallpaper, curtains and even curtain rails, were removed and either used in the construction of the East Wing or put in storage.

The Principal Corridor features many works of art by Franz Saver Winterhalter, Sir Thomas Lawrence and Thomas Gainsborough, including a number of paintings of Queen Victoria and her family. Queen Victoria and her family referred to this corridor as The Princess’ Corridor, because her daughters had their bedrooms along it. You can still see the doorways, although the rooms are not open for viewing.

The Yellow Drawing Room is also a wonderful space, almost cosy in an ornate kind of way. The hand-painted Victorian wallpaper in this room came from the Brighton Pavilion and was placed in storage by Queen Victoria. Rediscovered by Queen Mary in the early twentieth century, it was re-hung in this room at her request. For the reservicing project, this wallpaper was painstakingly removed, restored and then re-hung. It speaks to the quality of the original workmanship that this Victorian wallpaper was has been taken down twice and hung three times, yet still looks flawless.

The Centre Room opens on to the famous balcony the Royal Family stand on for special occasions. Of course we were not able to go out on the balcony, however we were able to look through the window at a view normally only seen by the Royal Family and their guests. What I found amazing was that even standing in the room looking through the net curtains, you can still almost see people’s faces in the crowd below! The room is decorated with Chinese art and the lily-shaped glass chandelier in the centre of this room is very striking. You can take a peek inside the room in this reel from the Royal Collection Trust on Instagram.

I was interested to learn that the Centre Room was still being refurbished when King Charles III’s’ Coronation was held, so a special wooden walkway had to be constructed for the King and Queen to access the balcony. The room itself had no furniture in it at that time and building materials and equipment were everywhere.

When I visited, there was also a dining room still under restoration included on the tour. The furniture is in storage but all the art remains on the walls and has been carefully covered to protect it. It was fascinating to see the floorboards, which were removed one by one, numbered, restored and replaced in exactly the same position. Over 875 tradespeople, many of them apprentices, have been involved in this restoration, and it truly does appear to be a labour of love.

Buckingham Palace Gardens

Buckingham Palace has over 35 acres of gardens behind it, highlights of which can sometimes be seen on a tour available as part of a combination ticket with a visit to The State Rooms. Visit The Royal Collection Trust website for more details.

Changing of the Guard

The music and sheer spectacle of this traditional ceremony is something both kids and adults will love! Dates for the Changing of the Guard vary throughout the year, so do check out The Household Division website for more information.

The ceremony generally starts at 11.00am sharp on the days it is held, but the crowds build up very early so plan to arrive well before.

Don’t Miss The Royal Mews

Step inside the working Royal world when you visit one of the finest working stables in the world, the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace. Many of the Palace staff have homes in the Mews; this is also where the horses used in State Ceremonies are stabled. The beautiful state coaches – including The Gold State Coach used for The Queen’s Coronation – are on display here, and you can also see the historic livery worn by The King’s Coachmen. In 2024, the Royal Mews are open on select dates between 1st March and 3rd November. Visit The Royal Collection Trust website for more details.

Visiting The King’s Gallery

Located beyond the Royal Mews, around the corner to the left of the palace as you face it, this beautiful gallery showcases the art and treasures held in trust for the nation by The King. Exhibitions change throughout the year. The most recent exhibit, Royal Portraits: A Century of Photographs opened on 17th May 2024. I really enjoyed my visit in August 2024. There are photographs from the Royal Family’s private collection as well as some you may recognise from the press. I think my favourite was a family photograph of the late Queen with her family taken a few years before her parents ascended the throne. The late Queen’s father, later King George VI, signed it “Bertie”. You can also see the negative and discover how the photographer edited it to make the finished photograph circular. It is so interesting to see how photography has evolved over the past one hundred years as well as to learn more about the photographers, many of whom were women.

Audio guides are normally included in the price of admission. The King’s Gallery open 7 days a week until 31st August 2024 and then it is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Other opening times may vary so be sure to check The Royal Collection Trust website before you visit.

Outside Buckingham Palace – The Queen Victoria Memorial

Located in front and around the sides of Buckingham Palace, The Queen Victoria Memorial includes the Canada Gate (pictured below), the Australia Gate and the South and West Africa Gates as well as the Memorial Gardens and a huge central monument topped with a gilded bronze winged Victory statue (pictured above).  The impressive monument in front of the palace includes sculptures of Queen Victoria as well as the virtues attributed to her: constancy, courage, victory, charity, truth and motherhood.

Tickets

Visit The Royal Collection Trust for ticket information and to purchase. At the time of writing, the most economical way to visit Buckingham Palace, The Royal Mews and The King’s Gallery on the same day is to buy a combination Royal Day Out ticket. You can buy tickets for these venues individually but either way it is better value to book in advance.

Tickets purchased from the Trust may sometimes be converted to an annual pass on the day of your visit to give you 12 months complimentary admission to the site(s) you have visited, should you wish to return. (Conditions apply. Return visits must be booked in advance.) At time of writing there is a kiosk as you exit Buckingham Palace Gardens after your tour of the Palace where you can have your ticket stamped. Be sure to have a printed copy of your ticket with you. Electronic tickets cannot be converted to annual passes.

Location – Getting There

Buckingham Palace is located at the top of The Mall. The closest underground (London’s subway) station is Green Park on the Victoria Line. Walk out of the station, across Green Park and through the Canada Gates to the Palace. Or take the underground to Charing Cross, leave through the Trafalgar Square exit, and take the longer walk up The Mall from Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch and up to Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Mews, The King’s Gallery and the entrance to the State Rooms are all located around the corner from Buckingham Palace in Buckingham Palace Road (to the left as you face the Palace).

If you cannot visit in person, it is well worth following the Royal Collection Trust on Instagram. They post some wonderful videos from inside Buckingham Palace as well as the many other palaces they care for.

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Favourite Castles and Palaces in England

My Top 5 London Restaurants

The London Eye

 I paid all my own expenses to visit Buckingham Palace and am not connected with The Royal Collection in any way. Information is correct to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing and I accept no responsibility for, nor can I be held liable for, your experience of any of these venues. Be sure to check with the relevant venues for opening times, their full terms and conditions, and for prices, availability and payment terms.