Well this is not entirely true, I didn’t actually meet the Queen, but we have had tea while on the Buckingham Palace Tour, twice actually!
I am a royalist at heart and absolutely love the Royal Family.
As soon as I realised I could have a nosey inside Buckingham Palace, I was there!
We took Freddie in 2016 and 2017 and have never been disappointed. The first time we did the Buckingham Palace tour, we went with my mother in law and Freddie of course, and the second time with Freddie’s best friend.
Train to London
We live in Leicestershire so the easiest way to get to London is on the train, it is only an hour. If I am clever and organised (not always the way) I will buy tickets in advance at a ridiculously reduced price. We have a Friends and Family card so we always get money off as well. The card only costs £30 a year and you will get 1/3 off adult prices and up to 60% off kids fares. It is definitely worth it if you do more than one train trip a year.
Buckingham Palace Tour
Now for those of you who don’t know Buckingham Palace opens its doors to the public between Saturday 21st July 2018 and close on Sunday 30th September 2018. The Buckingham Palace tour of the State Rooms is a great day out. There are 19 State rooms in total which provide the setting for ceremonial occasions and official entertaining. Who doesn’t want to see inside Buckingham Palace!!!
The Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace in 2018 will include an exhibition that marks the 70th birthday of The Prince of Wales.
As you wander through the rooms and the magnificent stair case you have a headset with a handheld computer which tells you all about the rooms you are in. I always do the family friendly version with Freddie, and there are games and hide and seek.
Tea with the Queen
At the end of your visit you can have a light snack at the cafe (including tea!!).
There is also a kid friendly area where your children can dress up, and have their photo taken with the Queen and her grandchildren.
I think Freddie fits in perfectly into the Royal Family!!!
See he’s a natural!!
Or maybe a Queens beefeater guard!!
At the very end of the trip you can enjoy a walk through the garden to the exit, with splendid views of Buckingham Palace and the famous lake.
Prices
Each Buckingham Palace tour ticket comes with a 1 year pass, so you can go again the next year. Although you have to tell them to treat your ticket purchase as a donation.
The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity.
Adult: £24.00
Over 60/ Student (with valid ID): £22.00
Under 17/ Disabled: £13.50
Under 5: Free
Family: £61.50 (2 adults and 3 under 17s)
Please note that these really need to be purchased in advance. There are a number of tickets for sale on the door. However, these sell really quickly. So to avoid disappointment purchase them before you go.
Review
I can not recommend this highly enough, we all absolutely loved it. So much so we went again the year after. Do you know what I am pretty sure we will all go again this year too. Unfortunately the Queen wasn’t there for either visit, but, it really is fantastic. I can’t imagine living the life of a Royal, but this was certainly an eye opener.
If you love this why not head to the Palace of Holyroodhouse including Afternoon Tea, check out this great review.
Have you been inside Buckingham Palace? What are your thoughts about it?
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That’s really cool you got to go inside! On my one visit to London I Just enjoyed the gardens and the view ?
What a fantastic day out. I’m not surprised you all enjoyed it. #sharingthebloglove
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Do you know, I worked behind Buckingham Palace for two years and I’ve never visited! It looks like a fascinating place to look around, I’d love to see it all. I wonder what she thinks of all the visitors to her home? Thanks for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
Wow this looks amazing! I would love to visit! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
We went to go there last year but by the time we got round to it, I was too hungry and needed dinner!!!! We will go there at some point but probably once the twins are a bit older as no doubt they’ll be causing havoc! #sharingthebloglove
I did the tour before we had the girls and I loved it. I would love to go back when they are a bit older and take them around. My eldest is fascinated by the queen. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove
I’ve never been but it’s the type of day trip I’d like. I think even N might like it too #sharingthebloglove
Looks like you had a lovely time can’t wait to take my babies on trips like this when they are older! #itsok
I must admit i have always wanted to do this sounds great fun #tacticaltuesdays
Freddie does fit right in:) Lovely pics and seems like a great day out. Thanks for linking up with #itsok
I’d absolutely love to have a peek inside, I recently watched ‘The Crown’ series and loved it. Such a sweet pic of Freddie with the Queens Great Grandchildren – that’s a cool idea!
Hi, I’ve always wanted to visit. I had no idea that there would be things to keep the children entertained as well. Freddie fits in perfectly in the photos #sharingthebloglove
I’d love to visit and have a good look round! It looks like you had a great day out! x
Oh I’ve never been but I would love this! I may just have to book now. Thank you so much for this review. #sharingthebloglove
We went a few years ago and really enjoyed it.
The one thing I’d add to your excellent post is that, unless things have changed since we went, you need to book in advance. When we went they only had a limited number of tickets for walk-ins and we saw loads of people being turned away.
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Ah yes you are right thank you so much I will make that clear in the post. 🙂 xx
I am really impressed with the family ticket price. As a family of five we often have to pay an extra full price ticket which isn’t always that much more cost effective. We are planning our first family trip to London this year and so will be adding this to the list of places to visit and a great tip on the Family Railcard too. #sharingthebloglove
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The railcard has spent us a fortune I have to say, it is such great value for money. Hope you have a lovely time 🙂 x
Ah this looks like a lot of fun! We are going to London with the kids sightseeing in a few weeks and I can’t wait!!
opps #sharingthebloglove
I also love the Royals and visited Buckingham Palace last year. We had fun but I thought it could have been better organised.
This is great- I have never been to Buckingham Palace myself so it is lovely to see what you can see and do there- thank you for sharing! #tacticaltuesdays
I don’t know why but it never occurred to me that Buckingham palace could be a child friendly thing. Small girl would love all this and we have some time in London planned in half term so we’ll certainly add this to our list !! #itsok
What a great day out, I didn’t even know you could go inside the palace! #SharingtheBlogLove
This post was good fun to read and you obviously had a really good time at the palace. Lovely! x #TacticalTuesday
This sounds like a great educational trip if you are learning about the royal family #SharingtheBlogLove
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I love the royal family and have been to Buckingham Palace but not for about 15 years. I’d love to take my kids and great that the tickets are valid for a year #sharingthebloglove
Oh I didn’t realise you could do this! Great idea and great day out
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Oh its fantastic, well worth a trip 🙂