Buckingham Palace will resume tours of the usually private East Wing in the new year, the front from which the royals are seen on the balcony. The summer opening mainly focuses on the state rooms on the west wing of the palace, and they only started occasional tours of the east wing in 2024. It's not cheap though, as the 90-minute tours are designed to give you a more in-depth look at the East Wing, at a time when the Palace is not usually open to the public.
Tourists and Londoners are being tricked by an AI advert promoting a Crimbo market outside the Royals' residence. The artificially created images, shared on social media, are promoting Buckingham Palace's 'first ever Christmas market', which is allegedly running from November 14 to Jan 5 2026. However, if you look closely at the images, nearly all of them show the stands beyond the gates of the palace, which would be a infringement of counter-terror measures if they were real. Nice try, AI.
The shop, run by the Royal Household's charity, the Royal Collection Trust, will feature a bespoke collection of official royal gifts, decorations, food, and drink, with every purchase going towards supporting the Trust's mission to conserve the royal family's extensive art collection. Visitors will have the opportunity to browse from a wide selection of unique goods that draw inspiration from the monarchy's residences and history.
And, while Oxford Street and Covent Garden will be no less busy in 2025, there's one new store well worth a detour - Buckingham Palace's first Christmas pop-up shop. The launch of the Royal Collection Trust's annual gift guide came with exciting news this September, as the palace's 200-year-old stables will be transformed into a seasonal boutique while the Mews is closed to visitors for the winter.
