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Public to Get Rare Glimpse of Buckingham Palace Balcony Room

The Buckingham Palace balcony is the centrepoint for major royal occasions (AFP)
The Buckingham Palace balcony is the centrepoint for major royal occasions (AFP)
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Public to Get Rare Glimpse of Buckingham Palace Balcony Room

The Buckingham Palace balcony is the centrepoint for major royal occasions (AFP)
The Buckingham Palace balcony is the centrepoint for major royal occasions (AFP)

The room behind Buckingham Palace's famous balcony opens to the public for the first time next week, giving a rare glimpse into one of the royal residence's inner sanctums.

For decades the royal family has been seen emerging from the room after coronations, weddings and other landmark occasions.

From the appearance of World War II leader Winston Churchill alongside the royal family in 1945 to the wedding of King Charles III and Princess Diana in 1981, the balcony and the room behind it has repeatedly played witness to history.

But despite endless images of the balcony, the room itself has always been kept under wraps.

Charles most recently appeared on it following his birthday parade last month along with his daughter-in-law Catherine, Princess of Wales.

The 42-year-old princess's presence drew huge interest as it was her first appearance at an official royal event since she announced she was undergoing cancer treatment earlier this year.

Visitors will be able to see the room as part of a tour of the palace's east wing -- the first time it has been opened to the public since it was created around 175 years ago, AFP reported.

Almost 6,000 tickets for the new tour were snapped up within hours of going on sale in April.

The wing was added between 1847-49 to accommodate the growing family of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert.

"It was Prince Albert's idea to have a balcony at Buckingham Palace, because he saw it as a way of enabling the royal family to connect with the people, and of course that's exactly how, in a sense, it continues to be used on important occasions," said Caroline de Guitaut, surveyor of the king's works of art.

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Art as Therapy: Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museum Visits

A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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Art as Therapy: Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museum Visits

A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Swiss doctors are expanding the range of prescriptions for patients with mental health conditions and chronic illnesses to include strolls in public gardens, art galleries and museums.
The city of Neuchatel, in western Switzerland, launched the pilot project with doctors last month to help struggling residents and to promote physical activity.
"For people who sometimes have difficulties with their mental health, it allows them for a moment to forget their worries, their pain, their illnesses to go and spend a joyful moment of discovery," Patricia Lehmann, a Neuchatel doctor taking part in the program, told Reuters.
"I'm convinced that when we take care of people's emotions, we allow them somehow to perhaps find a path to healing."
Five hundred prescriptions will be handed out for free visits to four sites, including three museums and the city's botanical garden.
One of them went to a 26-year-old woman suffering from burnout whom Reuters met at the Neuchatel Museum of Art and History, which has masterpieces by Claude Monet and Edgar Degas as well as a collection of automated dolls.
"I think it brings a little light into the darkness," she said, asking to remain anonymous.
Authorities say the idea came from a 2019 World Health Organization study exploring the role of the arts in promoting health and dealing with illness.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, museum closures hit people's well-being, said Julie Courcier Delafontaine, head of the city's culture department.
"That was a real trigger and we were really convinced that culture was essential for the well-being of humanity," she said.
The initiative will be tested for a year and could be expanded to other activities such as theater.
"We'd love this project to take off and have enough patients to prove its worth and that one day, why not, health insurance covers culture as a form of therapy," said Courcier Delafontaine.