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Tourists get VIP treatment as Buckingham Palace opens its doors to them
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Tourists get VIP treatment as Buckingham Palace opens its doors to them

The 90-minute guided tours, running from January to May and costing £90, will offer a more in-depth look at the history of the East Wing rooms at a time when the palace is not usually open to the public.

The royal residence is undergoing £369 million renovation to update its electrical wiring, plumbing and heating system over a period of 10 years.

A working palace, it is the king’s official residence in London, where he holds his audiences and receptions.

He and the Queen are not currently spending the night there, preferring his nearby Clarence House.

Guided tours of the palace’s state rooms – which do not include the East Wing – are offered from the winter months of November to January, with a few visits in late spring and around Easter.

But the additional tours of the East Wing will be seen as a move toward greater public access to the historic building throughout the year.

Visitors will tour the Central Hall, where they will have views of the balcony and the Victoria Memorial, explore the Yellow Room, with its imposing Chinese porcelain pagodas, and tour the 240-foot main corridor.

Tickets for the traditional summer opening of the state rooms from mid-July to the end of September, as well as for the East Wing in July and August, will go on sale on Tuesday.

£1 tickets to royal residences

Meanwhile, new £1 tickets to visit Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse have been announced for 2025.

Discounted entry will be offered between January and April to people on Universal Credit in a bid to make the royal residences more inclusive.

Eligible people can bring up to five members of their household with them to explore Berkshire Castle or Edinburgh Palace for £1 each.

Guided tours of St James’s Palace in London, including a view of the Chapel Royal, where Prince George and Prince Louis were christened, will also be available on selected weekends in spring 2025, following trial openings several years ago .