Buckingham Palace opens room with famous balcony to visitors

LONDON: Visitors to Buckingham Palace in London this summer have the opportunity to stand behind the famous balcony where the British royal family often poses.

For the first time, the palace opens the east wing of the building, which includes the central room where the iconic balcony is located.

“This room was part of the extension to the East Wing created 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 to see off troops in the Crimean War, so it’s been in use for quite a long time,” she said.

Visitors are not permitted to stay on the balcony.

But not only can you look out over the mall through the net curtain, you can also admire a newly restored 19th-century glass chandelier in the shape of a lotus flower.

“It’s an exciting prospect for the public to see the chandelier – not just out of their mouths, but to actually be in the room where it hangs,” said Turner Inman.

Ticket holders also have access to the Yellow Drawing Room, which displays 18th-century items such as recently restored hand-painted Chinese wallpaper and a Kylin clock.

While guided tours of parts of the palace have been available since 1993, access to this area was only reopened after five years of renovation work as part of Buckingham Palace’s ongoing reservation program.

Other highlights include Chinese imperial silk tapestries given to Queen Victoria, and works by artists such as 18th-century British painter Thomas Gainsborough, on display in the main corridor.

The £75 (US$95.90) ​​tickets include not only a tour of the East Wing rooms, which are often used for receptions and meetings as well as moments on the balcony, but also access to the State Rooms.

The summer opening of the State Rooms and East Wing rooms will take place from July 11 to September 29. There are cheaper tickets available for the State Rooms only, but anyone wanting to see the newly opened wing will have to wait until next year as these tickets sell out.