Draped in lavish tapestries, decadent chandeliers and contemporary works of art, they are rooms that are quite literally fit for a Queen.
Now, Queen Elizabeth II’s private rooms at the Palace of Holyroodhouse are to be opened to the public for the first time.
The apartments at the royal residence in Edinburgh were used by the monarch and her husband Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, during their stays in the Capital.
The once-private spaces include the Queen’s Dressing Room where she would prepare and dress for official engagements, and the Sitting Room where she would work and relax.
Visitors will also be able to see the Royal Breakfast Room, where the couple would dine privately on a circular table covered with a white linen table cloth, and where the walls are adorned by large Flemish tapestries from the 1650s.
Emma Stead, the palace’s curator, said: ‘Queen Elizabeth II’s well-known love for Scotland will be given fresh context through this unique and special access to the private apartments, where visitors will enjoy a new perspective into both the formal and more informal use of Edinburgh’s royal palace.’
The Queen hosting a garden party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in 2017
One of the private apartments going on show
Each year in late June or early July the Queen would stay in the suite of private rooms at the palace for Holyrood Week and host a garden party for 8,000 guests.
Small groups will be given a rare glimpse of the royal family’s life behind closed doors by expert guides who will share the history of the spaces – used by successive monarchs since Queen Victoria.
In the Sitting Room, the Queen would carry out her official duties by reviewing the papers and documents presented in her red boxes.
The room, which features a large central chandelier, is also where the Queen would hold private audiences, working from a small antique desk facing the central window, overlooking the gardens.
On show in the Dressing Room, to give a sense of how the Queen would prepare for her official engagements, will be three ensembles from her wardrobe, each worn for a key occasion in Edinburgh.
A purple coat made of a silk-wool blend with a green silk-crepe and lace dress, and a shawl of purple and green Isle of Skye tartan, woven on the Isle of Lewis, was chosen by the Queen for the official opening of the Scottish parliament on July 1, 1999.
The matching Philip Somerville hat was trimmed with a bow made of the coat’s silk-wool fabric, and also curled dark-green feathers.
The Queen’s style that graced the Scottish parliament opening in 1999 (left)
The Queen’s private rooms at the Palace of Holyroodhouse are to be opened to the public for the first time
Also on display will be a white, pink, gold and cream beaded and sequinned silk gown, embroidered with gold thread, which the Queen wore to a Commonwealth Heads of Government reception held at the palace in 1997.
A white tweed coat, highlighted with accents of pink, yellow and green within the weave, and a pink wool crepe day dress which the Queen wore to a garden party in 2017 will also be displayed.
The nation’s longest serving monarch died at Balmoral in September 2022 after reigning for 70 years. The centenary of her birth is on April 21 this year.
The tours, which will run from May 21 to September 10, must be booked in addition to the standard admission ticket to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Royal Collection Trust email subscribers will be given priority access to book tickets at an offer price of £61 from March 9, with remaining tickets, costing £71 in advance for adults or £75 on the day, going on general sale on March 12.
