Inside the secret rooms at Buckingham Palace – from the royals’ private cinema to a hidden passageway
IT’S one of the most recognisable buildings in Britain, but Buckingham Palace has many secrets behind its elaborate walls.
With its own private pool and cinema, it has many fascinating features available for the royal family and staff members.
However, while you’d imagine a glittering palace to be the height of luxury, there are also reports of it being cold and having rats over the years.
Here we lift the lid on the iconic London landmark and reveal some hidden facts…
Hidden passageways
There are a whopping 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace – so it’s hardly surprising that the royal family have clever ways of getting round quickly and away from the public.
It turns out that there are secret passageways to help with the issue, including one hidden behind a huge mirror.
In a segment on ITV‘s Good Morning Britain filmed in 2015, Kate Garraway gave viewers a tour of the grand White Drawing Room.
As she stopped to admire the huge mirror in the middle of the room, Kate revealed that it actually hides a secret door so the royals can make a surprise entrance to their private apartments.
Anna Reynolds, curator of the Royal Collection True, previously said: “This is the way to the Queen‘s apartments.
“It allows her to make an entrance without having to walk through all of the different palace rooms.”
King Charles‘ former butler Grant Harrold said: “I remember once watching The Queen walking towards what I thought was a mirror and thinking, ‘what is she going to do?’
“She walked up to it and it opened and through she went.”
Private cinema
BBC journalist Emily Maitlis previously revealed that she saw the cinema being set up in the south drawing room when she visited the palace to interview Prince Andrew in November 2020.
Writing for The Times, she said: “The floor is being transformed by palace workmen.
“It looks for a minute as if railway tracks are going down.”
She then spoke to a staff member, who told her: “It’s for the Buckingham Palace cinema.
“All the people who work here come along. It’s Judy tonight if you want to stay.”
Palace post office
Forget having to pop to the post office after work, as staff can take advantage of Buckingham Palace’s very own Post Office.
Just like many rooms and facilities on offer at the palace, all 800 palace staff can make use of the Court Post Office, which is run by Royal Mail.
While we can’t be certain of how it looks now, a snap from 1941 offers a sneak peak into what it was like all those years ago.
ATM machine
Luckily for the royal family, withdrawing cash in a hurry is no obstacle.
In 2001, the now-former head of Coutts bank, Gordon Pell, confirmed to The Standard that there is indeed an ATM inside Buckingham Palace.
The late Queen’s former press secretary Ailsa Anderson confirmed that it doesn’t charge you for using it.
Doctor’s surgery
The palace also has doctor’s surgery if any royal family members or staff need immediate care.
The Royal Mews Surgery is located at Buckingham Palace and is run by the late Queen’s GP, Dr Timothy Evans.
But it mostly offers NHS healthcare to royal household staff as the royal family prefers to be treated privately.
Inside Buckingham Palace’s ‘cold’ swimming pool
BUCKINGHAM Palace is instantly recognisable around the world - but did you know there is a secret pool inside?
The late Queen’s former press secretary Ailsa Anderson lifted the lid on what life was like behind palace walls as she appeared on The Times royal podcast.
And while having a pool in the palace may seem like a perk for many people, Ailsa wasn’t too impressed with it.
Kate Mansey, Royal Editor of The Times, asked Aisla: “Did you ever swim in the pool?”
Ailsa confirmed that she had, and when she was asked if was nice or basic, she replied: “Basic, yes.
“It’s really cold.”
And surprisingly for a grand palace, Ailsa also revealed on The Royals with Roya and Kate that it’s really small.
The former royal staffer claims the late Queen never used it, but “Diana did famously” and she presumed it was where Prince William and Prince Harry learned to swim in private.
Alisa said staff were able to book for a swim in the pool when royal family members weren’t present, and could also use other Buckingham Palace amenities too.
Rat problem
Even though it’s one of the most famous buildings in the world, Buckingham Palace has allegedly been dealing with a rodent problem since the 1830s.
Opening up about the Palace’s rat residents, Professor Kate Williams said: “When Queen Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace, she was shocked by how many rats there were.
“Rats treated Buckingham Palace like their own personal playground.
“It got so bad that Victoria had to appoint her own rat-catcher and his title was Jack Black VR – rat and mole catcher to Her Majesty.”
Unfortunately, the expert wasn’t able to exterminate the rats completely and the historian said the Queen Mother used to practise shooting on the rodents during WWII.
Kate added: “She was practising what to do in case Hitler invaded and she was kidnapped – she got a gun and she used to shoot them in this crumpled part of Buckingham Palace […]
“As recently as 2019, exterminators were called in because rats were seen tearing through the royal kitchens.”
Chilly conditions
You may wish to wrap up warm if you ever get a chance to go inside Buckingham Palace in winter.
The heating has reportedly been turned down inside the building and at other royal homes, to reflect King Charles’ views on saving energy.
According to the Independent, royal family members, staff and guests live in temperatures set at 19C during the winter and a few degrees lower when rooms are empty.
Who lives at Buckingham Palace?
BUCKINGHAM PALACE is one of the main and most important royal households with many operations going on that concern the country and how it's governed.
It’s home to some members of the Royal Family too while it being a London must-see.
Buckingham Palace is the London home to the UK sovereign, but in the case of King Charles III, he chose to keep residing in Clarence House.
There are major works going on in Buckingham Palace and that is one of the reasons why the King chose not to follow tradition.
The King and Queen Consort decided not to move into the Palace for at least five years as it’s undergoing a renovation that costs about £369million.
His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II resided in Buckingham Palace with her family which included Prince Philip and their four children before they got married, King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
However, she did spend time away from London and would visit Windsor Castle on weekends.
She also spent summers and the last few months of her life in Balmoral.
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms that are all used for different functions.
There are 19 State rooms while there are 92 offices.
There are many bedrooms too, 52 being for royals and guests, with 188 left for staff.