Queen Elizabeth II opens the private gardens of Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, home to the Queen of England, is home to a 39-acre garden (about 158,000 square meters) which, in addition to being Elizabeth II's private garden in London, is the setting for many royal events.
The parties in the garden of the Queen (The Queen's Garden Parties) are one of the most anticipated events of the year and every summer, multitudes of illustrious guests enjoy this orchard in the heart of the British capital.
For more than 200 years, the royal family has used the garden for official events but it had never been open to the public, until now.
As of July 9, 2021, Buckingham Palace opens its private gardens to the public to have picnics, enjoy the views of the palace and reconnect with nature.
You can buy your tickets on the website The Royal Collection Trust, although right now, due to the high demand for reservations, they have temporarily paralyzed the sale, but will soon restore it.
For more than 200 years, the royal family has used the garden for official events but it has never been open to the public, until now.
A WALLED OASIS IN CENTRAL LONDON
“This summer you can stroll the winding paths of the garden at your own pace and experience the beauty and tranquility of this walled oasis in the center of London”, they say on the website of The Royal Collection Trust.
It is the largest private garden in the capital and has 325 species of wild plants, 30 species of breeding birds and more than 1,000 trees, including 98 plane trees and 85 different species of oak trees.
The central attraction of the garden is the lake, created in the 19th century and originally fed by the overflow of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. Today it is a self-regulating ecosystem that is fed by the Palace's drilling well and Buckingham's bees live on his island.
The garden provides a habitat for native birds rarely seen in London, including sandpiper, sedge warbler, and white-breasted.
You can buy your tickets on the website The Royal Collection Trust
A GARDEN TO DISCOVER
Other emblematic areas of the garden are the Herbaceous Border of 156 meters; Castaño de Indias Avenue; the Bananas planted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; the wild flower meadow and the rose garden.
Garden buildings and structures include a wisteria-clad summer house, a huge Waterloo vase made for George IV in Italy, and the Palace's tennis court, where King George VI and Fred Perry played in the 1930s.
A walled oasis in central London
HISTORY OF THE GARDEN
In 1608, James I established a mulberry plantation for the rearing of silkworms in this place under royal patronage. Unfortunately, the wrong type of mulberry tree was chosen and the plan was for naught. The garden is now home to 45 different types of mulberry trees and, since 2000, it has housed the National Collection of Moreras.
During the first half of the 18th century, Buckingham House, the London home of the Duke of Buckingham, stood on the site where the Palace now stands. The house with its surrounding grounds became royal property in 1761, when it was purchased by George III as a private residence.
During the reign of George III and his consort, Queen Charlotte, the garden was home to a menagerie of exotic animals, including an elephant and one of the first zebras seen in England.
It is the largest private garden in the capital
The design of the garden as it is seen today dates back to the transformation carried out by George IV of Buckingham House at Buckingham Palace in 1825.
The new royal residence needed a suitable private garden, and George IV appointed William Townsend Aiton , who was in charge of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, to oversee the redevelopment of the grounds.
Like the Palace itself, the garden has undergone changes over the years. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) decided to clear much of the dense Victorian bush and introduced a wide selection of decorative flowering trees and scented shrubs.
Buckingham Palace, home to the Queen of England, is home to a 39-acre garden
THE VISIT
From July 9 to September 19, 2021, Buckingham Palace Gardens will open to the public, subject to prior reservation.
The price of general admission is 16.50 pounds (19.05 euros). The rest of the tickets are priced at 15 pounds (over 60s and students), and 9 pounds (children from 5 to 16 years old and disabled people). There is also the Family rate, at a price of 42 pounds, which includes the ticket for two adults and up to three children).
Although right now the sale has been paralyzed due to the high demand, soon there will be tickets available here.
The central attraction of the garden is the lake, created in the 19th century
From May to September, special guided tours will be held at Buckingham Palace, where you can see many of the magnificent rooms of the palace, decorated with some of the greatest treasures of the Royal Collection, such as paintings by Benjamin West and Franz Xaver Winterhalter, exquisite porcelain from Sèvres, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world. Starting in July, access to the garden will be included in the visit.
A picnic in the private gardens of Buckingham Palace?
Those who cannot visit Her Majesty's official residences in person can enjoy the online program of events, led by expert guides and broadcast live from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The interactive talks A Warden's Welcome will reveal the stories of the Palaces through exclusive images and footage.