How to get a glimpse of the Royal family’s life behind closed doors

Tour the palaces, castles and stately homes where the Royal family lives, works and holidays

The British landscape is awash with royal properties, from stately palaces to historic castles. These include three of the monarch’s official royal residences: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse. 
But while these historic buildings may have the level of grandeur you imagine when you picture the Royal family at home, in truth, royals are only “resident” in these buildings on occasion. For some, they are even considered business premises – though they rather put the rest of our offices to shame.
When it comes to days off from official business, members of the Royal family are more likely to be found in their private homes, such as the King and Queen’s Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, or the Prince and Princess of Wales’s family home of Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park. 
While the private homes are exactly that – private – there are plenty of places around Britain where you can walk in the footsteps of the Royal family and get a small glimpse into their lives. Here are some of the best. 
Let’s start with the most famous of all royal residences: Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth II largely regarded it as her office, spending weekdays there attending to official business before retreating to Windsor at the weekends.
Now, of course, the palace – whose origins can be traced back to the reign of King James I in the early 17th century, but which has been the London home of British monarchs since 1837 when Queen Victoria moved in – is the King’s official London residence.
Buckingham Palace is the setting for royal and national celebrations and commemorations; on His Majesty’s official birthday (Trooping of the Colour) on June 15 2024, gathered crowds were delighted to see the Princess of Wales on the balcony with her family – her first official public appearance since announcing she had cancer. It’s also where the monarch hosts dignitaries and official banquets – the King held a reception for world leaders at the palace on the eve of his mother’s funeral on September 18 2022.
As it is a working palace, Buckingham Palace is only open to the public at set times. For 11 weeks each summer, its grand state rooms are opened. During this time, visitors can see the crimson-and-gold Throne Room, the Royal Mews, and the enormous Ballroom, where all those extravagant state banquets are held. In 2024, for the first time in its history, visitors were also able to tour the principal rooms of the East Wing, including the Central Room, which leads onto the famous balcony. In addition, there are exclusive guided tours at select dates throughout the year.
Those without a ticket or travelling at the wrong time of year can still watch the spectacle of the Changing of the Guard, which takes place outside the palace several days a week at 11am (weather dependent, but check the schedule). 
The ceremony has its roots in the reign of King Henry VI and sees the New Guard of soldiers – wearing the customary bearskin hats – march to Buckingham Palace from St James’s Palace and Wellington Barracks accompanied by music. They parade in front of the palace and relieve the Old Guard (the soldiers on duty). 
If you are lucky and the King is in residence (the Royal Standard flag will be flying) then there will be an even higher number of sentries than normal taking part in the ceremony.
Buckingham Palace (0303 123 7300) is open for 11 weeks each summer (July 11–September 29 2024). The Goring (read our review here), a favourite hotel of the Royal family, has double rooms from £757 including breakfast. 
At the start of the Covid pandemic, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip retreated to this castle on the banks of the River Thames to shield with 22 staff members in what became known as “HMS Bubble”. After Prince Philip’s death in April 2021, the late Queen remained at Windsor; indeed, she never spent another night at Buckingham Palace.
The castle was originally built for William the Conqueror to defend London from western approaches, but it became a royal palace under King Henry I. Subsequent monarchs extended the palace with its most ambitious makeover undertaken by King Charles II, who wanted to emulate the opulence of his cousin Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles.
As well as seeing the rich interiors of the castle, and famous items such as Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, which celebrated its centenary in 2024, visitors can pay their respects to the late Queen by visiting her final resting place within the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St George’s Chapel.
In 2022, the Prince and Princess of Wales moved to nearby Adelaide Cottage in Windsor Home Park with their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – who attend school locally. Unlike his mother, King Charles rarely visits Windsor, except for official events, such as Garter Day – a celebration of Britain’s oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry – held each June, and to host special engagements.
Windsor Castle (0303 123 7300) is open daily throughout the year, with some special tours held in July and August only. Castle Hotel Windsor (read our review here) has double rooms from £228 including breakfast.
The King’s official residence in Scotland, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is a rather grand building that sits at the opposite end of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to the castle. The palace has links with many famous figures from Scottish history – including Bonnie Prince Charlie, who set up court here in 1745 – but the person most visitors want to hear about is Mary, Queen of Scots. Her bedroom can be reached via a winding staircase in the north-west tower of the palace and is a delight to discover with its low doorway (despite Mary being around 6ft tall), decorative oak ceiling and painted frieze.
The reigning monarch stays at the palace every year during Holyrood Week (or Royal Week) from late June to early July. During this time, they take part in the symbolic Ceremony of the Keys in which the monarch is handed the keys to the city of Edinburgh by the Lord Provost amid much pomp and ceremony.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse (0303 123 7306) is open every day from July-Sept; it’s closed Tue-Wed in all other months. Cheval Old Town Chambers (read our review here) has private apartments from £400 including breakfast.
Though Clarence House (not currently open to visitors) in London is their official home, when they are not on official duties, the King and Queen love nothing better than to return to their countryside home of Highgrove in the Cotswolds. As the house is a private home, you can’t peek behind its neoclassical façade, but tours of the exquisite gardens – which Charles has dedicated himself to creating since buying the property in 1980 – are lovely. 
On the 1.5-hour Champagne Tea and Garden Tours, an experienced guide will take you through the gardens, which include the Chelsea Flower Show award-winning “Carpet Garden”, based on a sketch by the King himself, and are a real passion project of His Majesty. You will then be led to the Orchard Room Restaurant for a Champagne afternoon tea, with sandwiches, cakes and fresh scones, before having the chance to purchase bespoke Highgrove products – including food and drink made from produce grown here – in the shop in the Coronation Pavilion.
Highgrove tours are available on select dates between April and September. Calcot & Spa (read our review here) has double rooms from £334 including breakfast.
Elizabeth II spent her final weeks in Balmoral and this palace in the Highlands was reputedly her favourite home. 
She is not the only royal to have felt an affinity for the place. Queen Victoria, who fell in love with the Highlands during her very first visit in 1842, was the first monarch to call it home. She and Albert loved to escape public life here, embarking on incognito expeditions through the Highlands. 
The late Queen spent every summer at Balmoral (August–October) and she would regularly be joined by other members of the Royal family. In 2024, the King and Queen returned to Balmoral, confirming that the holiday tradition continues. However, unlike his mother, when Charles visits, he prefers to stay in his Birkhall house on the estate, rather than in the castle itself – indeed he’s so fond of it that he and Camilla spent part of their honeymoon here.
The Royal family are considered locals in the nearby village of Ballater and are regularly seen attending services at nearby Crathie Kirk, as they were in 2024.
When the monarch is not in residence, the site is open to visitors. Though traditionally visitors to Balmoral have only been able to see a very small section of the castle’s interiors – including the ballroom where Ghillies Balls have historically been held – in 2024, tours were launched that granted access to some of the other rooms for the first time too, including the dining room, library, and drawing room.
Tickets for these tours predictably sold out very quickly, but even if you can’t nab a spot on a future tour, it’s the majestic setting amid acres of greenery with views across to the Cairngorms that makes a visit here worthwhile. It’s also worth checking the website for news of any upcoming Balmoral Expedition Tours, which are due to resume in late October 2024, and take you around the vast estate in a 4×4.
Balmoral (01339 742 534) is open for pre-booked self-guided tours every summer and a small selection of guided tours of the interiors (March 23 to Aug 11, 2024). The Fife Arms (read our review here) has double rooms from £763, including breakfast.
The Royal family traditionally spends Christmas at the sprawling estate of Sandringham. The private country retreat has been a popular haunt since 1862, when the Jacobean house was built for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra while Edward’s mother was still on the throne.
It was also a favourite of King Charles III’s grandfather, King George VI, and great-grandfather, King George V, who both died here. The house and gardens are a joy to explore. Norfolk is also where Anmer Hall, another of William and Catherine’s homes, is located.
Sandringham (01485 544 112) house and garden are open daily from March to October. The Brisley Bell (read our review here) has double rooms from £151 including breakfast.
Until 1997 the Royal family would take annual holidays around Scotland’s Western Isles aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. After the yacht was decommissioned, it was docked in the portside Edinburgh suburb of Leith and has since become one of Scotland’s most popular attractions.
A tour of the yacht allows you to peer into the bedroom that Queen Elizabeth II slept in while on board and reveals a glimpse of what life in the Royal family is like when the eyes of the world are not upon them. The late Queen clearly missed her days on board; after the yacht was no longer available to her, she chartered the Hebridean Princess, which offers small-ship cruises, on two separate occasions for special celebrations.
The Royal Yacht Britannia (0131 555 5566) is open daily year-round. Fingal (read our review here) is a luxurious floating hotel nearby. It has double rooms from £375 including breakfast. The Hebridean Princess (01756 704 704) offers cruises from March to November with prices from £3,440 pp for four nights). Read more about the travels of Elizabeth II here.
This west London mansion was the beloved home of Princess Diana and both the Diana Memorial Fountain and the Diana Memorial Playground can be found in its extensive gardens. Apartment 1a is still the London pad of the Prince of Wales and his family, though they are rarely there these days, preferring the privacy of Windsor or Norfolk.
For many years, Kensington was known for the magnificent balls that were held across its ornate interconnected rooms and began in the late 17th century during the era of King William and Mary. The already grandiose interiors were later added to by the Georgians when Kensington became the hub of high society. Elaborate decoration, such as the painted walls around the King’s Staircase which features many characters from George I’s court, were also added. 
As well as standard tours of the palace, regular exhibitions draw on its rich history, telling the stories of past and present royals in new and dynamic ways. The permanent display Victoria: A Royal Childhood tells the story of one of the palace’s most famous residents. Queen Victoria was born here, and the exhibition includes personal items such as her doll house. Other rolling exhibitions let visitors see precious items from the palace’s archive; often including iconic outfits worn by various members of the Royal family or telling the stories of those who worked here.
Kensington Palace (0333 320 6000) is open daily year-round. The Baglioni (read our review here), opposite Kensington Gardens, has double rooms from £665 including breakfast.
This article was first published in May 2023 and has been revised and updated.