Home Educators Day - Buckingham Palace

Home Educators Day at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 8 September 2026, 11:00 - 15:00.

Royal Collection Trust continues to welcome Home Educators to our sites and would like to invite Home Educator Families to join us for a day of inspiring and educational activities to explore The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace is recognised around the world as the home of the monarch, the focus of national and royal celebrations.

With The State Rooms closed to the general public on Wednesdays, you will be provided with an exclusive opportunity to explore this amazing location at your own pace.

A number of different activities will be provided and repeated at different points during the day so that your family can (further details to follow):

• Learn about the ceremonial activities that take place inside Buckingham Palace
• Discover the role that Buckingham Palace plays in the Coronation.
• Take the opportunity to sketch in the Picture Gallery from paintings by some of the Old Masters, including Rubens and Rembrandt 

In addition there will be a drop-in Arts & Crafts workshop that can be accessed at any point during your visit or you can use our age appropriate activity trails to discover more about the history and role of Buckingham Palace.

This event has been created with the flexible needs of Home Educator families in mind, with the activities created to allow families to work together during the sessions.

Booking and timings

The event is open for individual Home Educator Families to book or for families wishing to book as part of Home Education Groups.

Please note: For Home Education Groups who wish to book, activities for this event have been developed for individual Home Educator Families to participate in together. Due to capacity reasons, Home Education Groups may be asked to split into smaller groups between the different timed activities.

Buckingham Palace will be open for booked Home Educator Families from 11:00 to 15:00. The sessions and workshops will run alongside each other at:

• 11:15
• 12:00
• 13:15
• 14:00
   

Cost:

Entry for this event is charged at the reduced schools rate of £6 per child 5 years of age and over. Children under 5 years of age are FREE. One Parent, Guardian or Accompanying adult is admitted free of charge to the ratio of 1:2 children. To book your place please complete the Booking Form ( link below) and contact the Learning Bookings Team. Details available by clicking the ‘How to Book Info’ tab at the top. Booking on to this event will be available up to and including Monday 8 September.

Please note:

• On Tuesday 8 September Buckingham Palace will be open from 11:00 – 15:00 to booked Home Educator Families and Groups only.
• Buckingham Palace does have facilities for families or groups to have lunch on site. Please feel free to bring your lunches to eat on site.
• The Buckingham palace Café and Shop will not be open.

Visitors with Access needs:

We welcome visitors with different access requirements to Buckingham Palace. If you, or somebody in your party, has access needs or mobility issues, please visit  the Buckingham Palace Visit pages to find helpful pre-visit information. 
 

Self-Guided visits:

If you are unable to attend the 8 September event, all Home Education Families and Groups are welcome to book a self-guided visit to Buckingham Palace on selected dates during September and October 2026. Your self-guided visit can be booked at the same education rate that UK schools receive. Information on the ratios for free accompanying adults can be found in the 'Prices' tab above.

Our learning programmes are designed to be accessible to all pupils.  Most of our sessions can be adapted to meet any educational or access needs your group may have.  Please ask for details when booking.

You may find the information for visitors on the Autism spectrum helpful when planning your visit to Buckingham Palace.

Free access companion tickets are available for adults accompanying any pupils with a disability in your group.

There are no lunch spaces available for groups visiting the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. Green Park and St James’s Park are located nearby. Lunch room facilities are available at the nearby Girl Guiding UK ICANDO Centre on Buckingham Palace Road. For bookings please telephone 020 7592 1818.

To find out more or to make a booking contact the Learning Bookings team.

Please have to hand:

• Preferred date and possible alternatives, plus time of arrival
• Numbers of children and supervising adults
• The taught programme you would like
• Details of any special educational or access needs

Please use the downloadable Bookings Forms to send your details to the Learning Bookings Team.

You will then be sent a reservation letter, together with your teachers’ resource pack, giving a date by which full payment must be received to secure the booking.

Please note: you may be asked to cover the cost of the session if you cancel within short notice of your visit.  Non-booked schools will be charged at standard group admission rates.  Please see our Terms of Application for Learning Group Admissions.

Contact us

Learning Bookings Team
Ticket Sales and Information Office
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA

T. (+44) (0)303 123 7323
F. (+44) (0)20 7930 9625
[email protected]

Sharing Learning Objectives

You will find our learning objectives for each taught session on the relevant programme information page.  Sending us your learning objectives prior to your visit will help us tailor the session to your group’s requirements.

Planning Visits

Once you have made your booking, we offer two complimentary tickets for you and a colleague to conduct a planning visit.  If you would like to meet a member of the Learning team during this visit, please let us know at the time of booking.

Teachers' Packs for each site can be downloaded here.

Reduced-rate admission for school groups

Pre-booked school groups: £6.00 per pupil
Children in Reception or below: FREE

Please note the minimum school group sizes for booking taught workshops are:

• 15 Pupils
• 10 Pupils for SEN groups

Accompanying adults

One teacher or adult helper is admitted free of charge at the following ratios:

• Under 5s - 1 adult: 3 pupils
• Years 1 to 3 - 1 adult: 6 pupils
• Year 4 and above - 1 adult: 10 pupils

Please ask for details of rates for additional adults when booking.

Arrival

Following your booking a confirmation letter, with an agreed arrival time, will be sent to you; your letter serves as a ticket for your group. The group leader must have a copy of the confirmation letter to present on arrival.

Security Measures

Royal Collection Trust sites have airport-style security measures at all public entry points, through which all visitors, including school groups, are required to enter.  All adults and children will be asked to:

• Allow any bags to be searched by hand
• Walk through a metal detector arch, one at a time
• Switch off mobile phones

The Royal Collection Trust Learning section asks that teachers undertake the following guidelines to make entry to Royal Collection Trust sites as smooth and quick as possible:

• Please arrive at the Royal Collection Trust site at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time for the booked workshop
• Teachers and children should not bring the following: scissors, compasses, metal cutlery, sharp metallic implements
• Only bring what you need! The Royal Collection Trust Learning section will provide all necessary equipment such as clipboards, pencils and drawing materials (groups can bring their own sketchbooks if they prefer to use these)