Following an extensive five-year restoration project, the East Wing at Buckingham Palace is available to tour for the first time ever. Beginning July 11, visitors will have the opportunity to tour the previously restricted area throughout the summer as part of the palace’s annual Summer Opening of the State Rooms. “Led by expert guides, small groups of visitors will tour a series of rooms on the East Wing’s Principal Floor, which have never been accessible to the public before,” reads a press release from the Royal Collection Trust.
.jpg)
Built between 1847 and 1849, the East Wing most famously encompasses the balcony that the royal family gathers on for public appearances, such as during Trooping the Colour in June. The addition enclosed what had previously been a U-shaped courtyard and was built to offer more space for Queen Victoria’s growing family.
To finance the wing, the family sold the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, which had been George IV’s seaside retreat. All of the pavilion’s contents—many of which were Asian pieces resulting from the king’s love for the style—were moved to the East Wing. As such, many of the rooms in this part of the palace have a noticeable Chinese-inspired theme. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, oversaw the decoration of the wing. In fact, the iconic balcony was added at his suggestion.
For the past five years, the East Wing has undergone a number of restoration and improvement projects as part of the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme. In the Centre Room, the glass chandelier (shaped like a lotus flower) was restored, as were the room’s Chinese silk wall hangings, which were given to Queen Victoria in 1897 for her Diamond Jubilee. The Kylin Clock in the Yellow Drawing Room was dismantled and conserved for the first time in decades, while the hand-painted Chinese wallpaper in the room was removed and carefully cleaned and preserved.
Slightly more dramatic changes took place in the Principal Corridor, which was repainted a sage green to match its original hue following historic paint pigment analysis. Many of the paintings have also been replaced with those that depict Queen Victoria, her life, and family to reflect the wing’s history.
Tickets for the summer state room tours offer access to 19 rooms that the royal family uses for official entertaining. This includes the ballroom, where guests can also see the recently unveiled portrait of His Majesty The King by Jonathan Yeo.
This story originally featured on Architecturaldigest.com.
