Parts of Buckingham Palace in London and Balmoral Castle in Scotland will be accessible to the public for the first time this summer. In London, the renovated East Wing of Buckingham will be accessible for the first time as part of a guided tour, specifies the Royal Collection Trust, which is in charge of opening the royal residences of Charles III to the public.
Room adjacent to the famous balcony
The ticket will grant access to the main corridor, notably decorated with paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, and to the room adjacent to the famous balcony, from where the royal family waves to the crowd, and which overlooks the famous Mall where the public gathers during major events. occasions. However, visitors will not be able to take part in the game of going to greet the crowd themselves from this balcony.
This wing of the palace was built between 1847 and 1849 to house Queen Victoria’s large family, giving Buckingham its rectangular shape rather than a horseshoe. It will be accessible in July and August after more than five years of work, as part of a renovation program worth 369 million pounds (430 million euros), aimed in particular at reviewing the electrical wiring and plumbing.
Reservations from April 10
The guided tour of this eastern part must be purchased in addition to the standard ticket for access to Buckingham Palace, for a total of 75 pounds (87 euros). Reservations for these daily tours, which will welcome a limited number of people between July 15 and August 31, will open on April 10. The classic summer visit to the famous royal residence will take place over a longer period, between July 11 and September 29, 2024.
At the same time, between July 1 and August 4, visitors will have access to certain parts of Balmoral Castle, the Windsors’ summer residence in the Highlands, Scotland, before the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Forty entries will be sold each day, and the ticket will cost 100 pounds (117 euros) or 150 pounds (175 euros) with an English tea break.
Previously limited to the garden and ballroom, these are the first expanded tours of the castle, Elizabeth II’s favorite, where the Queen died in September 2022, since its completion in 1855.
This article is originally published on estrepublicain.fr
