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A new behind the scenes look at the private apartments used by Queen Elizabeth II when in residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse has opened to visitors for the first time to mark the centenary of her birth.
For the next 100 days, small groups will be able to get a peek behind the royal curtains. Guided tours will let people discover the history of the rooms and learn how they were used by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, during her 70-year reign.
Tours will take visitors through rooms and spaces including the Royal Breakfast Room, where the Queen and Prince Philip would dine privately while in residence. In the Dressing Room, giving a sense of how the Queen would prepare for official engagements, visitors will see three ensembles and accessories from her wardrobe, each worn during a significant occasion in Edinburgh.
The tours will conclude in the Sitting Room where the late Queen would work, reviewing the papers and documents presented in the Government red dispatch boxes, as well as using the room for private audiences or resting between engagements, often while watching horseracing on television.
After their tour of Queen Elizabeth II’s private apartments, visitors can explore the rich history of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, including the magnificent State Apartments and the historic apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots, all included in the ticket price.
Combined tickets cost £71 in advance, or £75 on the day. The Queen Elizabeth II Private Apartment Tours are available only in 2026, running daily for 100 days from Thursday, May 21 to September 10.
5. Palace of Holyroodhouse
A member of staff from the Royal Trust Collection alongside a green day dress, purple coat and purple trilby hat worn by Queen Elizabeth II for the official opening of the Scottish Parliament in July 1999 and a fine candy pink wool crepe dress with white thick broucle tweed wool coat worn at the Garden Party in 2017, which is on display at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. | Jane Barlow/PA Wire
6. Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh
The Royal Breakfast Room, where the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip would dine privately while in residence at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. | Jane Barlow/PA Wire
7. Palace of Holyroodhouse
A member of staff from the Royal Trust Collection takes a closer look at an engraved glass goblet, the Reddendo presented to late Queen Elizabeth II in 1976 by the Royal Archers, which is on display in the Royal Breakfast Room at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. | Jane Barlow/PA Wire
8. Palace of Holyroodhouse
A member of the Royal Trust Collection staff arranges items on the desk in the Sitting Room where the late Queen Elizabeth II would work, reviewing the papers and documents presented in the Government red dispatch boxes, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. | Jane Barlow/PA Wire