St James’s Palace to open to public with guided tours
Built by Henry VIII, the royal palace has been home to kings and queens of England for over 300 years
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St James’s Palace is preparing to open to the public for the first time in its 500-year history, following trials in 2022 and 2023.
Small guided groups will be able to take a tour of the historic royal palace, including the Throne Room where King Charles III was formally named monarch.
St James’s, which is the most senior royal palace in London and the official seat of the Royal Court, was built between 1531 and 1536 on the orders of King Henry VIII.
Guided tours, which are expected to last around one hour and 45 minutes, will include the Colour Court, the Grand Staircase, Armoury, Tapestry Room, Queen Anne Room, Entrée Room, Throne Room, Picture Gallery and a view of the Chapel Royal from the balcony.
Visitors will also be able to see paintings and furniture from the Royal Collection, as well as surviving Tudor architecture, such as the courtyard and gatehouse.
Tickets for the tours are priced at £85 per person, the Royal Collection Trust has confirmed, and have already sold out.
It added that entry prices were “benchmarked across the sector and reflect the unique and special access visitors will experience”.
There is a timed admission system, with the first tour leaving at 10.30am and the last leaving at 6.30pm.
Photography, eating and drinking are not permitted and there are no toilet facilities for visitors.
While no monarch lives at the palace, it retains an important ceremonial function.
The Accession Council meets at St James’s following the death of a monarch and the accession of a new monarch is also announced here.
Royal family occasions have also taken place at the palace including, most recently, the christening of Prince Louis in 2018.
Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in the chapel at St James’s and the future Charles II and James II were both born and baptised here, as were Mary of York (Mary II), Anne of York (Queen Anne) and James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender).
And it was in St James’s Palace that Mary Tudor signed the treaty surrounding Calais in 1558.
She also died at the palace later that year, where her body lay for almost a month before she was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Charles I also spent his last night at St James’s Palace before his execution in 1649.
Unlike other royal residences, such as Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, St James’s has remained closed to the public until now.
