Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837. Similar to the predicament I faced with the Tower of London last year, Buckingham Palace was a royal residence I had seen hundreds of times from the outside, but I had never stepped foot inside. Given the likelihood of me being invited to a function at the palace is slim, there was only one option – The Royal Collection Trust.
Whilst I was aware the palace opens its doors to the public on occasions, it was not something I had really looked into properly until it came to Christmas last year. My dad is the most challenging person to buy for at Christmas. If you ask him what he wants, then he will most likely say socks or chocolate. My personal favourite was the year he asked for a large tub of Sudocrem and Vicks Vapour Rub. In recent years I have disregarded the process of asking what he wants, and instead I have identified experiences that we can do together, experiences that he is yet to tick off. Going inside Buckingham Palace was one such experience.
We did the ‘Exclusive Guided Tour, Buckingham Palace’ at £75 per person, but other options are available on The Royal Collections Trusts website. This may seem expensive, but this does give you access to free re-admission for a year (handy for when the Royal Mews and Gardens are open). The tour lasts an hour and a half, and takes you through The Grand Entrance, and around The State Rooms. It does not include the gardens, or it did not at the time of year we went. You can see the gardens out of the windows though, and in all honesty it was a little underwhelming. Think simple green lawn and lake. I guess I was expecting statues and exotic landscape gardening.
Our guides were extremely insightful in explaining the details behind each of the rooms and their content. It should be noted the tour is hosted by the Royal Collection Trust. The Royal Collection includes one of the biggest art collections in the world, so expect lots of detail along these lines. Although I enjoyed this side of the tour, it was evident it was not everyone’s cup of tea.
That is it for the first item ticked of my Edison Project 2016. Unfortunately I do not have any photographs from within the palace as photography is forbidden on the tour, but I will leave you with the details on how you too can tick this one off if you haven’t already.
Item: #92 – Visit Buckingham Palace
Useful Links: Royal Collection Trust
Cost: The State Rooms, Adult, £21.50