Private group tours with the Royal Collection Trust in 2024

What groups can look forward to in 2024

Windsor Castle

Groups will be offered the special opportunity to experience a private talk and view of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House from March to October 2024 (excluding July and August).

In 2024, Royal Collection Trust will mark 100 years since the Dolls’ House was built to showcase the best of British craftsmanship and design in the aftermath of World War One. It was put on display at Windsor Castle the following year and has a remained one of the highlights of a visit ever since.

Through a talk and a private viewing without the crowds, groups will explore the history of the house and its contents, and learn how modern conservators meticulously care for this world in miniature, from its working lifts and electric lights to the fully stocked wine cellar, all at 1:12 scale.

Between March and October 2024, the special visit Queen Elizabeth II’s Life at the Castle will once again be available to groups, offering the chance to learn how Windsor remained a constant throughout the late Queen’s life, from her childhood during wartime to countless state occasions and personal moments over the course of her 70-year reign. Both special visits include a chance for groups to explore the State Apartments at their leisure with a multimedia tour.

Palace of Holyroodhouse

Groups can explore 900 years of Scottish royal history and learn how the palace has been used historically and how it is still used today by His Majesty and other members of the Royal Family for official ceremonies and entertaining. Visitors can also explore the medieval ruins of Holyrood Abbey and the Palace gardens, set against the landscape of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.

Throughout the year, groups can enjoy private guided after-hours tours of the palace and learn about its most famous inhabitants, from Mary, Queen of Scots to Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the palace’s role today as The King’s official residence in Scotland. These tours are the only opportunity to see the West Drawing Room, used by His Majesty and members of the Royal Family as a private drawing room. Tours include a guidebook and a glass of champagne.

Buckingham Palace

During the summer months, groups can of course head to Buckingham Palace. Visitors can explore the State Rooms, which play host to ceremonial occasions and official entertaining, where The King and members of the Royal Family welcome guests from all walks of life.

The Garden Highlights Tour explains the history of Buckingham Palace’s 39-acre garden, taking groups to the beautiful Herbaceous Border, the wisteria-clad Summer House and Rose Garden, the Waterloo Vase and the palace tennis court, where King George VI and Fred Perry played in the 1930s.

Between the multimedia tour of the State Rooms and the guided tour of the garden, the itinerary allows time for groups to take in panoramic views of the lawn and the lake, enjoy tea and cakes from the Garden Café and to visit the Garden Shop.

The Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace

Since the 19th century, the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace has been home to the royal collection of coaches and carriages, and has overseen the transport arrangements for the Royal Family during State and ceremonial occasions, including coronations, royal weddings and Trooping the Colour.

Visitors will have a chance to get up close to the dazzling Gold State Coach, which has carried every monarch to their coronation since 1831 and recently played a starring role at the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023. The Mews is also home to the Windsor Greys and Cleveland Bays, the horses that pull the carriages.

The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace

A major exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace brings together over 100 works from Henry VIII’s court, including drawings, paintings and miniatures by Hans Holbein the Younger drawn from the Royal Collection, one of the most important surviving groups of the artist’s work. Together, it forms the largest group of Holbein’s works from the Royal Collection to be exhibited in over 30 years.

Holbein at the Tudor Court highlights works from Holbein’s time at court in the first half of the 16th century, when he rose to become the most important artist in Tudor England. Groups can enjoy private access to the exhibition before it opens to the public in private morning visits. After-hours private evening talks and views also give groups the chance to engage in more depth with Holbein and his work, enjoying an introductory talk by an expert guide before viewing the exhibition at their leisure. Groups can enjoy this exhibition until 14th April 2024.