Reopening the royal residences

The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and The Queen’s Gallery, Edinburgh will reopen to visitors on Thursday, 22 September. Windsor Castle will reopen on Thursday, 29 September. We strongly recommend pre-booking tickets. 

The Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews will not reopen to the public in 2022.

The exhibition Masterpieces from Buckingham Palace at The Queen’s Gallery, Edinburgh will be extended until Monday, 31 October.

The ticket office will be open from Tuesday, 20 September for online booking.

The official royal residences were closed during the following periods:

• Windsor Castle: 9–28 September 2022
• Palace of Holyroodhouse: 9–21 September 2022
• The Queen’s Gallery, Edinburgh: 9–21 September 2022
• The Queen’s Gallery, London: 9–21 September 2022
• The Royal Mews: 9 September – until end of seasonal opening on 2 October 2022
• The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace: 9 September – until end of seasonal opening on 2 October 2022

If you purchased a ticket to visit one of these sites during this closure, you are entitled to a refund.

If you have tickets bought directly from Royal Collection Trust and paid with a credit or debit card, your payment will be automatically refunded within the next 28 days.

If you have tickets bought directly from Royal Collection Trust using cash or a cheque and would like to request a refund, please contact the ticket office by email at [email protected].

If you purchased tickets through a third party, please contact them directly regarding your refund.

All tickets affected by the closure have been automatically cancelled and refunded. If you wish to visit at a later date, you will be required to purchase a new set of tickets.

If your 1–Year Pass was due to expire between or between 10–21 September for The Queen's Galleries or Palace of Holyroodhouse, or between 10–28 September 2022 for Windsor Castle, we are able to extend your pass to allow you to make one further visit before 31 December 2022.

In order to claim your 1–Year Pass extension you will need to email [email protected] with your name and order number from your 1–Year Pass. Your order number is visible on the front side of your original ticket at the bottom. Once we have confirmed your pass extension, we will email you instructions on how to carry out your further visit. Please note that all other terms and conditions of the 1–Year Pass scheme still apply and you must keep your original stamped and signed 1–Year Pass in order to take advantage of free re-admission. See our website for more information about the 1–Year Pass.

If you hold a 1–Year Pass that is still valid, you can continue to use your pass as you normally would after our sites reopen. If you hold a pass for the Royal Mews or for The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, you are only able to use your pass during the seasonal opening of these sites. As this year’s seasonal opening is now over, you will instead be able to use your pass next year if it is still valid during our opening dates. It is recommended that you subscribe to our email newsletter to receive the latest information about opening dates for next year. Visit our webpage for more information about the 1–Year Pass.

All those whose tours or visits were affected by a cancellation or closure have now been contacted. Your tour will continue as planned unless you have already been contacted with notification of a cancellation.

As our sites are working royal residences, there are occasionally changes to the public visitor route or the experience of the site we are able to offer to our visitors.

At Windsor Castle, Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House will be closed, and as usual St George’s Chapel will be closed to visitors on Sundays, but remains open to worshippers attending a service.

Please check our Visit pages for more information.

The special displays at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse marking the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II will not reopen.

St George’s Chapel will be open to visitors unless you are visiting on a Sunday, when the Chapel is only open to those attending a service. You may wish to visit on another day of the week if you would like to visit the Chapel.

Visitors will not be permitted to bring flowers into Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse or The Queen’s Galleries.

Outside Windsor Castle, flowers can be left at the Cambridge Gate, at the Castle end of the Long Walk. This is a 5-minute walk from the visitor entrance of Windsor Castle.

At the Palace of Holyroodhouse, flowers can be left in the public garden next to the Abbey Strand gates.

Royal Collection Trust's online shop and shops in London and Edinburgh will reopen on Thursday, 22 September. Shops in Windsor Castle will reopen on Thursday, 29 September.

There will be no books of condolence at the residences. You can sign an online book of condolence on the Royal Family website. 

Please use our contact us form on our website to direct your query to the appropriate team.