Royals

Rare footage shows amazing glimpse behind the scenes of Buckingham Palace

Jul 24, 2018

Rare footage shows a glimpse inside Buckingham Palace. Source: Instagram/The Royal Family.

The royal family has opened the doors of Buckingham Palace to reveal an incredible glimpse inside the Queen’s home in rare and extensive footage.

A timelapse video, shared on the royals’ official social media channels, shows the lengthy and very elaborate route taken by Her Majesty’s butlers to deliver food from the kitchens to one of her main function rooms.

From endless corridors to incredible furniture, ancient artworks and plush carpets, the video shares a one-off look at the family’s lavish lifestyle, beginning downstairs in giant kitchens and ending at the centre of the Queen’s social space.

It was released to show how ‘Point Cloud’ Technology is being used to help make design changes to the palace, ahead of some reservicing.

“This clip shows how staff currently navigate from the kitchens to the Palace’s Chinese Drawing Room for functions. Currently many of the lifts are old and in impractical locations. New lifts will make the Palace more efficient & accessible,” a caption on the video read.

The camera slowly begins behind closed doors before navigating up two floors in a lift to the first floor of the palace. From there, it heads through ornate mirrored double doors before continuing down a lengthy corridor, through several doors, and then finally reaching the Chinese Drawing Room.

Many of the lifts at the Palace are old and impractical – here's how staff currently navigate from the kitchens to the Palace's Chinese Drawing Room for functions. The route will be more practical & efficient when new lifts are installed: https://t.co/P6aLLSrpTI pic.twitter.com/l8E3Kydiya

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 23, 2018

Urgent works are underway on the historic building to ensure it remains protected for future generations, and in a lengthy statement, the palace confirmed the electrical cabling, plumbing and heating have not been updated since the 1950s.

“The building’s infrastructure is in urgent need of a complete overhaul to prevent long-term damage to the building and its contents,” the statement added.

The work will be carried out in phases over 10 years, allowing the family to continue living there throughout. There are improvements expected for the visitors area too.

“The reservicing of Buckingham Palace will be funded through a temporary uplift in the Sovereign Grant, as recommended by the Royal Trustees and approved by Parliament,” the statement added.

It comes after the palace opened its doors to the public for a special exhibition in recognition of Prince Charles’ 70th birthday. Sharing a collection of over 100 works of art, the Prince of Wales has recreated his own home for the exhibition titled, Prince and Patron, with never before seen family photos on display.

Forming part of the summer opening of the palace, the exhibition, which opened recently, gives the public a chance to see what life as a royal is really like.

Buckingham Palace will open its doors to the public for the 2018 @RCT Summer Opening from tomorrow until Sunday 30th September #SummeratthePalace.

Visit https://t.co/maRlDBeSBU to find out more! pic.twitter.com/q4rMy7f2yk

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 20, 2018

Some of the most iconic photographs sure to grab the attention of royal enthusiasts include a photo of Charles holding grandson Prince George, along with a picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s recent wedding.

Family portraits also make an appearance, with oil sketches of the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall and the first joint portrait of Prince William and Prince Harry.

“I am very fond of the two preparatory oil sketches of my sons which I acquired from the artist, Nicky Phillips, in 2009,” Prince Charles said in an audio commentary, the Daily Mail reports.

“They were painted for a double portrait that now hands in the National Portrait Gallery. Noth are dressed in the regimental uniform of the Household Cavalry – the Blues and Royals – and are particularly good likenesses.”