Visitors will be able to step inside the late Queen Elizabeth II’s private rooms at her official Scottish residence for the first time this year, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the monarch’s life behind palace doors.
The rarely seen apartments at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh will open to the public as part of special tours marking the centenary of the Queen’s birth.
For decades the suite of rooms served as the personal living quarters of Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, during their stays in Scotland. The apartments, which date back to the 17th century, sit on the east side of the palace overlooking the gardens and nearby Holyrood Park.
Visitors will be able to explore spaces normally hidden from public view, including the Queen’s Dressing Room, where she prepared for official engagements, and the Sitting Room where she would carry out duties from her famous red boxes and relax by watching horse racing on television.
The Royal Collection Trust described the rooms as “modestly decorated” spaces that provide a rare insight into the monarch’s private life during moments away from public duties.
Tours will also include the Royal Breakfast Room, where the Queen and Prince Philip would dine privately at a circular table covered with a white linen cloth. The room is decorated with large Flemish tapestries dating from the 1650s.
Small guided groups will be taken through the apartments by expert guides who will explain how the rooms were used by generations of monarchs since the reign of Queen Victoria, as well as how Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh used the spaces during their time in residence.
In the Sitting Room the Queen would review official documents and hold private audiences from a small antique desk positioned in front of a window overlooking the gardens. The room features a large chandelier and two terracotta-coloured sofas facing each other across the fireplace.
A flat-screen television stands to the right of the fireplace – where the late monarch, who had a lifelong passion for horse racing, would watch the sport during quiet moments between engagements.
The Dressing Room will display three outfits worn by the Queen for significant occasions in Edinburgh. Among them is a purple silk-wool coat paired with a green silk-crepe and lace dress, worn for the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and inspired by Scotland’s landscape.
Also on show will be a beaded and sequinned silk gown worn at a Commonwealth Heads of Government reception at the palace in 1997, along with a white tweed coat and pink dress worn by the Queen to a garden party at Holyroodhouse in 2017.
Many of the rooms are furnished with historic pieces from the Royal Collection as well as items from the personal collections of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Philip, a keen collector of contemporary Scottish art, acquired works that reflected his admiration for Scotland’s landscapes and wildlife, some of which will form part of the display.
Emma Stead, curator of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, said the special access would offer visitors a deeper understanding of the late Queen’s close connection with Scotland.
“Queen Elizabeth II’s well-known love for Scotland will be given fresh context through this unique and special access to the private apartments,” she said.
The tours will run for 100 days between May 21 and September 10 and must be booked separately from general admission to the palace.
Priority booking will first be offered to Royal Collection Trust subscribers, with general ticket sales opening later in March.
The opening forms part of commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s birth on April 21. The Queen, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died at Balmoral in September 2022 after a reign spanning 70 years.
