Buckingham Palace to open front gates to tourists for first time

Buckingham Palace in London. Photo / Debbie Fan on Unsplash

Tourists visiting Buckingham Palace next year will be welcomed like royalty, invited to walk through the front gates and across the famous forecourt for the first time.

Paying visitors to the palace will enter in the same way as guests at garden parties and royal receptions as the Royal Collection Trust moves to open up access.

From January, the trust will re-open the East Wing for a further five months, outside the traditional palace summer opening, for the first time. The decision is in line with the King’s vision to give people greater access to the monarchy’s London headquarters all year round.

The trust’s expanded programme follows the success of this year’s summer opening, when it welcomed a record-breaking number of visitors and allowed access to the East Wing, which includes the famous central balcony, for the first time since it was built 175 years ago.

Many iconic moments have occurred on the balcony such as the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. Photo / Julia McCarthy-Fox

The 90-minute guided tours, running from January to May and costing £90 ($195.25), will offer a more in-depth look at the history of the rooms in the East Wing.

The royal residence is undergoing a £369 million refurbishment to update its electrical cabling, plumbing and heating system over the course of 10 years.

The working palace is the King’s official residence in London, where he conducts his audiences and receptions. He and the Queen do not currently stay overnight there, preferring his nearby home of Clarence House.

Guided tours of the palace’s staterooms – which do not include the East Wing – are offered already during the winter months from November to January, with some in late spring and around Easter.

Visitors will tour the Centre Room, from which they will have a view of the balcony and the Victoria Memorial, explore the Yellow Drawing Room, with its towering Chinese porcelain pagodas, and visit the 240ft (73m) Principal Corridor.

Tickets for the traditional summer opening of the staterooms from mid-July until late September, and the East Wing in July and August go on sale on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, new £1 tickets to visit Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse have been announced for 2025. The cut-price entrance will be available between January and April to people receiving universal credit (UK payments to help with living costs) in an attempt to make the royal residences more inclusive.

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.