FREE Home Educators Day at the Royal Mews Wednesday 7 May 2025, 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 Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace is responsible for all road travel arrangements for The King and members of the Royal Family, from horse-and-carriage to car and from livery to harness.

With the Royal Mews 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 experience:

• A Modern Day Monarchy workshop to explore the key responsibilities of his Majesty, King Charles III as both Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth? (30 minutes)
• An interactive tour of some of the important State carriages housed at the Mews to discover the different roles these ornate carriages are used for. (30 minutes)

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 the Royal Mews.

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.

The Royal Mews will be open for booked Home Educator Families from 11:00 to 15:00. The Modern Day Monarchy workshops and interactive tours will run alongside each other at:

• 11:15
• 12:00
• 13:15
• 14:00

To book your FREE place please 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 Tuesday 6 May.

Please note: 

• On Wednesday 7 May the Royal Mews will be open from 11:00 – 15:00 to booked Home Educator Families and Groups only.
• The Royal Mews does not have facilities for families or groups to have lunch on site.

Visitors with Access needs:

We welcome visitors with different access requirements to the Royal Mews. If you, or somebody in your party, has access needs or mobility issues, please visit  The Royal Mews Visit pages to find more information. This page provides useful resources such as downloadable sensory map and a photo journey.
 

Self-Guided visits:

If you are unable to attend the 7 May event, all Home Education Families and Groups are welcome to book a self-guided visit to the Royal Mews and The King's Gallery during the UK term-time periods. 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 The Royal Mews.

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

Pre-booked school groups to The Royal Mews will have use of the facilities in the Learning Room, which is within the Royal Mews precinct.  This is your base for the duration of your visit to the mews.  Facilities include a space to eat packed lunches and a safe place to leave coats and bags.

If lunch spaces are unavailable, 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: £3.00 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

All online workshops: £50 per class attending a booked session. 

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)