Tourists given VIP treatment as Buckingham Palace opens its front gates to them

The King has decided to give greater access to the palace that serves as his headquarters, including allowing tourists to enter through its famous front gates

Tourists visiting Buckingham Palace next year will be welcomed like royalty, invited to walk through the front gate 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, it 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.

Visitors will now be able to enter through the palace’s front gates and proceed across the forecourt, just as guests do for official royal events.

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 rooms in the East Wing at a time when the palace is not usually open to the public.

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

A working palace, it is the King’s official residence in London, and 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 state rooms – which do not include the East Wing – are offered already during the winter months from November to January, with some tours in late spring and around Easter.

But the extra East Wing tours will be seen as a shift towards greater public access to the historic building throughout the year.

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 Principal Corridor.

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

£1 tickets for royal residences

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 in an attempt to make the royal residences more inclusive.

Those eligible can bring up to five members of their household along with them to explore the Berkshire castle or the palace in Edinburgh 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.

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