Public Tours of Queen Elizabeth’s Private Rooms at Holyroodhouse Are Another Way to Make Money for Royal Charities

When Balmoral first opened its doors to the public two years ago, tickets sold out online within hours. Now, the late Queen Elizabeth’s private rooms at the Palace of Holyroodhouse have been opened to the public for the very first time in an effort to monetize the monarchy’s palaces.

King Charles, who is rumored to have long-term plans to turn Buckingham Palace into a museum, has given his approval for the once private living quarters at the monarch’s official Scottish residence to be open to the public in honor of the late Queen’s centenary.

“The King wants to open more palaces to the public. It’s a way of making money for royal charities like the Royal Collection and the King’s Foundation while allowing the public to experience something unique,” a palace insider told Vanity Fair. “Opening up Balmoral Castle has been such a success that the King is considering opening more private residences, and possibly some rooms at Highgrove. He believes these are special places that the public should get to experience.”

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The gardens at Highgrove House, King Charles’s Gloucestershire home, have been open to the public since 1996.

According to Richard Williams, Learning Curator for The Royal Collection, the opening of the rooms at Holyroodhouse, which will include the Royal Breakfast Room, the Queen’s Dressing Room and the Sitting Room, is a major money spinner.

“What’s so special about the rooms at Holyroodhouse is that they give a totally new insight into the private lives of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. To see where they felt most comfortable when they were off duty gives us a real insight into them as people,” Williams said.

“The rooms look just as they were when the Queen and Prince Philip lived in them. In the Queen’s dressing room are three outfits that she wore during Royal Week. There’s a garden party outfit, an evening dress and a day dress from when she opened Scottish Parliament.

There’s a TV set in the front room and two settees facing each other. One of them has a small teddy bear in tartan which was the Queen’s favorite and always brought out and put in the same spot for the Queen when she stayed.”

Unlike the state rooms and apartments at Buckingham Palace, Holyroodhouse feels more like a home than a palace. “The paintings on the walls are not the old masters but contemporary Scottish paintings that the Queen and Duke acquired, so you get to see their personal taste in art,” added Williams.

According to the Royal Collection, tours of the private rooms at Holyroodhouse will run through September 10, 2026, and will take small groups behind the scenes.

“You get to see how the Queen used to live. She had a team of dressers and would summon them with a call bell. Often, she had four outfit changes in one day during Royal Week. We have the trays in which the dressers set out the Queen’s jewelry, and the radio that she would have on is still there. It’s the personal touches that people are getting to see for the very first time,” said Williams.

“Very few people would ever have set foot into these rooms.”