In a building as old and historically important as Buckingham Palace, it is perhaps not unexpected that there are many hidden quirks and traits to the design.
One little known fact about the palace is that The Queen has secret passageways in the building that are hidden away from public view.
In the White Drawing Room, one of the most famous locations in Buckingham Palace, hidden behind a large mirror is a door that leads to a corridor.
This passageway takes The Queen straight to her private apartments where she lives.
The purpose of these corridors is to allow Her Majesty to travel from her private residence to the state rooms with ease.
A few years ago, ITV’s Good Morning Britain was granted unprecedented access to the White Drawing Room and saw the secret passageway firsthand.
Reporter Kate Garraway said to the camera: “This is the White Drawing Room. Looks beautiful, doesn’t it?
“Beautiful cabinet here, wonderful vase, gold candlesticks there. Absolutely lovely.”
The TV presenter then started to grab the large mirror, saying: “But if I just rather gently pull on this you will see…I tell you it takes a bit of muscle, the Queen must have more muscles than you realise.
“If you pull this open you can see that actually behind this there is a secret passage leading to the Queen’s private apartments.”
Anna Reynolds, curator of the Royal Collection Trust, was then asked by Kate Garraway why The Queen would need a hidden door.
She explained: “This is the way to the Queen’s apartments.
“Often when the Queen is meeting guests, they’re lined up for her here in the Music Room for her to meet.
“It allows her to make an entrance without having to walk through all of the different palace rooms.”
