Inside Buckingham Palace’s £369million renovation: How 190miles of electrical cables and 40,000 floorboards in the East Wing were replaced in six-year refurbishment
The image of the royal family waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Saturday made headlines around the world.
But for the past five years, the regal exterior has been hiding a building site – until now.
Today we can reveal fascinating new details of the renovated East Wing, which will soon be open to the public for the first time.
The £369 million program involved replacing 186 miles of electrical cabling in the east wing, approximately the distance from London to Leeds.
More than 40,000 floorboards have also been replaced and 41 apprentices have been hired to work on the renovation work.
The image of the royal family waving from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Saturday made headlines around the world. But for the past five years, the regal exterior has been hiding a building site – until now
For the past five years, the royal exterior has been hiding a building site – until now. Today we can reveal fascinating new details of the renovated East Wing, which will soon be open to the public for the first time. Above: The Principal Corridor – which runs the full length of the East Wing – during the renovation and earlier this year, after the renovations were completed
A royal source said: ‘Buckingham Palace is a national asset which, as a result of this work, will be more accessible to the public.
‘The king wants it to become ‘the palace of the people’. He is very keen to open it to the public through garden parties, tours and the extended summer opening, and we will continue to look for ways to do this.”
Refurbishment work began in 2017, with a focus on replacing outdated cabling and pipes that had not been updated since the 1950s and were at risk of causing ‘catastrophic fire or flooding’.
Work on the East Wing – which overlooks the Mall, where crowds gather for major royal occasions such as Trooping the Color and is home to the famous Central Balcony – began in 2018 and was completed earlier this year.
To replace the dangerous cables, thousands of floorboards were individually picked up and marked with a number, with every detail recorded on an intricate map.
When the wiring was replaced, each floor plate was put back in its original position ‘like a gigantic jigsaw’.
Work on the east wing, which overlooks the Mall, where people gather for major royal occasions such as Trooping the Colour, and features the famous central balcony, started in 2018. Above: The Yellow Drawing Room during renovation
The hidden spaces of the East Wing will be open to the public for the first time after selling 6,000 tickets within hours when they went on sale earlier this year. Above: The Yellow Drawing Room earlier this year, after renovations were completed
Deadly asbestos lurking in ‘the internal surfaces’ of several rooms in the East Wing was also eradicated through ‘abrasive masonry cleaning’.
Pupils of all ages – some straight from school and others who have retrained from different professions – have been brought in to help with the restoration of the Grade II listed building.
From July 15, visitors can come and view their DIY work.
The hidden spaces of the East Wing will be open to the public for the first time after selling 6,000 tickets within hours when they went on sale earlier this year.
But the entire reservation program, funded through the taxpayer-funded state grant, won’t be completed until 2027.
King Charles waves from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Color on Saturday
Since 2017, no fewer than 236 planning applications have been submitted as work continues to make the palace ‘fit for future generations’.
An MoS audit of these applications revealed that the 19th century servants’ quarters will be replaced by an airy ‘central collaboration space’ for the 300 office staff who work behind the palace walls.
A ‘gloomy and underused’ computer room will also be replaced by a modern meeting room, IT training room and an open-plan office space.
In the palace gardens, dozens of cherry trees and silver birches have been cut down to allow more natural light and encourage ‘regenerative growth’ of other plants.
Royal gardeners have been given a prominent place and are allocated ‘an extra welfare room’.