Members of the British royal family stand on the Buckingham Palace balcony while taking part in the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London. Photo / Getty Images
Members of the British royal family stand on the Buckingham Palace balcony while taking part in the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London. Photo / Getty Images
Avid royalists are in for a treat this summer as Buckingham Palace opens the doors to the building’s East Wing, including its iconic balcony, to visitors for the first time in its history.
For the first time, the palace is opening the building’s East Wing, which includes the Centre Room where the iconic balcony is.
“This room was part of the addition of the East Wing made by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. And it was Prince Albert who suggested the balcony,” said Nicola Turner Inman, curator of decorative arts at the Royal Collection Trust.
“It was first used in 1851 for waving off the troops for the Crimean War. So it’s been in use for quite a long time,” she said.
Visitors will not be allowed to stand on the balcony.
As well as being able to look through the net curtain down the Mall, visitors can admire a newly restored 19th-century glass chandelier shaped like a lotus flower.
“For the public to be able to see the chandelier, not a glimpse of it from the mouth but actually be in the room where it hangs, is an exciting prospect,” said Turner Inman.
Ticket holders will also be able to go inside the Yellow Drawing Room, which features 18th-century items such as recently restored hand-painted Chinese wallpaper and a Kylin clock.
Then-Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip after their marriage on July 29, 1981, at St Paul's Catheral. Photo / AP
While there have been guided tours of parts of the palace since 1993, access to this section has been made possible after five years of renovations as part of the ongoing Buckingham Palace reservicing programme.
Other highlights include Chinese imperial silk wall hangings presented to Queen Victoria and artwork from artists such as 18th-century British painter Thomas Gainsborough on display in the Principal Corridor.
As well as the East Wing rooms, often used for receptions and meetings as well as balcony moments, the £75 ($159.56) tickets include access to the State Rooms.
The summer opening of the State Rooms and the East Wing rooms is from July 11 to September 29. Cheaper tickets are available for the State Rooms only, but anyone keen to see the newly opened wing will have to wait until next year because those tickets have sold out.
