Visitors will be able to step inside the late Queen Elizabeth
\nII\u2019s private rooms at her official Scottish residence for the first
\ntime this year, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the
\nmonarch\u2019s life behind palace doors.<\/p>\n
The rarely seen apartments at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in
\nEdinburgh will open to the public as part of special tours marking
\nthe centenary of the Queen\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n
For decades the suite of rooms served as the personal living
\nquarters of Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke
\nof Edinburgh, during their stays in Scotland. The apartments, which
\ndate back to the 17th century, sit on the east side of the palace
\noverlooking the gardens and nearby Holyrood Park.<\/p>\n
Visitors will be able to explore spaces normally hidden from
\npublic view, including the Queen\u2019s Dressing Room, where she
\nprepared for official engagements, and the Sitting Room where she
\nwould carry out duties from her famous red boxes and relax by
\nwatching horse racing on television.<\/p>\n
The Royal Collection Trust described the rooms as \u201cmodestly
\ndecorated\u201d spaces that provide a rare insight into the monarch\u2019s
\nprivate life during moments away from public duties.<\/p>\n
Tours will also include the Royal Breakfast Room, where the
\nQueen and Prince Philip would dine privately at a circular table
\ncovered with a white linen cloth. The room is decorated with large
\nFlemish tapestries dating from the 1650s.<\/p>\n
Small guided groups will be taken through the apartments by
\nexpert guides who will explain how the rooms were used by
\ngenerations of monarchs since the reign of Queen Victoria, as well
\nas how Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh used the spaces
\nduring their time in residence.<\/p>\n
In the Sitting Room the Queen would review official documents
\nand hold private audiences from a small antique desk positioned in
\nfront of a window overlooking the gardens. The room features a
\nlarge chandelier and two terracotta-coloured sofas facing each
\nother across the fireplace.<\/p>\n
A flat-screen television stands to the right of the fireplace \u2013
\nwhere the late monarch, who had a lifelong passion for horse
\nracing, would watch the sport during quiet moments between
\nengagements.<\/p>\n
The Dressing Room will display three outfits worn by the Queen
\nfor significant occasions in Edinburgh. Among them is a purple
\nsilk-wool coat paired with a green silk-crepe and lace dress, worn
\nfor the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and inspired by
\nScotland\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n
Also on show will be a beaded and sequinned silk gown worn at a
\nCommonwealth Heads of Government reception at the palace in 1997,
\nalong with a white tweed coat and pink dress worn by the Queen to a
\ngarden party at Holyroodhouse in 2017.<\/p>\n
Many of the rooms are furnished with historic pieces from the
\nRoyal Collection as well as items from the personal collections of
\nthe Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Philip, a keen collector of
\ncontemporary Scottish art, acquired works that reflected his
\nadmiration for Scotland\u2019s landscapes and wildlife, some of which
\nwill form part of the display.<\/p>\n
Emma Stead, curator of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, said the
\nspecial access would offer visitors a deeper understanding of the
\nlate Queen\u2019s close connection with Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cQueen Elizabeth II\u2019s well-known love for Scotland will be given
\nfresh context through this unique and special access to the private
\napartments,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The tours will run for 100 days between May 21 and September 10
\nand must be booked separately from general admission to the
\npalace.<\/p>\n
Priority booking will first be offered to Royal Collection Trust
\nsubscribers, with general ticket sales opening later in March.<\/p>\n
The opening forms part of commemorations marking the 100th
\nanniversary of Elizabeth II\u2019s birth on April 21. The Queen,
\nBritain\u2019s longest-reigning monarch, died at Balmoral in September
\n2022 after a reign spanning 70 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Visitors will be able to step inside the late Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s private rooms at her official Scottish…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-155369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}