First ever public tours of St James’s Palace to start next year
The public will be able to visit the room where King Charles III was proclaimed monarch for the first time next year, as St James’s Palace will offer its first ever tours.
Unlike Buckingham Palace, which is the principal residence of the Monarch, St James Palace is the actual royal court and the senior palace in London—and it is not usually open to the public to visit. As the senior palace, when an overseas Ambassador arrives to take up their post on the UK, they aren’t the (for example) French Ambassador to the UK, but the French Ambassador to the Court of St James — as that’s the ancient title which the UK still uses.
Built nearly 500 years ago, St James’s Palace is a mix of Tudor and later Queen Anne-era buildings. It is a rare survivor of an older style of palace in that it’s a cluster of buildings rather than one grand palatial building. A visit is to step back in time to see how royal palaces used to look.
Today, several members of the royal family live there, and it is also home to several offices of the royal household and the Chapel Royal, the royal family’s private chapel within the palace.
The cluster of buildings are not readily open to the public, save those who attend Sunday service at the chapel, but next year, the public tours will allow the public inside for the first time.
Highlights of the tour include views of the Palace’s surviving Tudor architecture, such as its courtyard and gatehouse; paintings, furniture and decorative arts from the Royal Collection, including Mortlake tapestries acquired by Charles I; and the Throne Room and Picture Gallery, where the Accession Council of King Charles III was held in September 2022.
Yes, that’s the room where the King complained about the pens.
Wandering round the buildings, look for the car parking space signs reserving the space for Prince this, or Princess that, the Sergeants of this or that, or even His Majesty.
Tours will also include the richly decorated Chapel Royal, where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were married and where, more recently, the christenings of Their Royal Highnesses Prince George and Prince Louis took place. Thanks to ye olde job titles – the person in charge of the Chapel is called the Serjeant of the Vestry.
Tours will start in Spring 2025, with prices and booking details to be announced soon.
It’s been confirmed that photography won’t be permitted inside.
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