Buckingham Palace opens a room with its famous balcony to visitors

By Sarah Mills

LONDON (Reuters) – Visitors to Buckingham Palace in London this summer will be able to stand behind the famous balcony on which 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 emblematic balcony is located.

“This room was part of the East Wing, which was designed 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 greet troops going to the Crimean War, so it’s been around for quite a long time,” she said.

Visitors will not be allowed to stand on the balcony.

But as well as being able to peer through the mesh curtain onto The Mall, there’s also a recently restored 19th-century glass chandelier in the shape of a lotus flower to admire.

“The fact that the audience can see the chandelier, not just glimpse it from the mouth, but actually be in the room where it hangs is an exciting prospect,” Turner Inman said.

Ticket holders will also be able to enter the Yellow Room, which features 18th-century artifacts such as recently restored hand-painted Chinese wallpaper and a Kylin clock.

Although guided tours of parts of the palace have been available since 1993, access to this section was made possible after five years of renovation as part of Buckingham Palace’s ongoing refurbishment programme.

Other highlights include the Chinese imperial silk wall hangings presented to Queen Victoria, as well as the artwork of 18th-century British painter Thomas Gainsborough displayed in the main hallway.

As well as seeing the East Wing rooms, often used for receptions and meetings as well as balcony time, the £75 ($95.90) ​​tickets include 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. Cheaper tickets are available for the State Rooms only, but those wishing to see the newly opened wing will have to wait until next year, as those tickets are sold out.

($1 = 0.7820 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Mills, editing by Jamie Freed)