I visited the famous royal balcony: one thing left me worried for Kate and William’s kids
From Queen Victoria welcoming troops back from Crimea to the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee and, most recently, Trooping the Colour, the Buckingham Palace balcony has long been a central point of royal national events for many years.
For the first time ever, the east wing of the Palace opens up to the public for an exclusive tour, priced at £75. Ahead of royal fans entering the famous abode, a royal correspondent took a sneak peek around and has now shared her thoughts.
According to Emily Nash, the balcony is “lower than you think”, which led her to express concerns for the likes of Prince William and Princess Kate’s children. While visitors are not allowed to step out onto the platform, Emily said she was particularly “struck” by its size and admitted she’d be “super nervous” about letting her children go out onto it.
Speaking on Hello! Magazine’s A Right Royal podcast, she shared: “It’s much lower than you think. Again you’re not allowed to step out onto it, but it’s quite deep, in the terms of fitting several people in, behind each other.
The balustrade is not that high and we were told that they use a small box for the youngest children to see over the top for the flypast.
But, I have to say, I’d be inclined to sort of put reins on, particularly with the lively one… not mentioning names,” to which Prince Louis’ name was suggested in the background.
Keen to know more, podcast host Emmy Griffiths questioned why the balcony wasn’t open to visitors given how iconic it is, to which Andrea Caamano said: “It sounds dangerous.”
Sharing her thoughts, Emily said: “I think practically it wouldn’t be a very good idea, but they also might want to keep something special.”
Elsewhere on the tour, the royal editor got to see Jonathan Yeo’s official portrait of the King for the first time.
She revealed that the artwork is “huge”, to which her eyes were at the same level as his hands – something she found “a little disconcerting”.
Emily added: “And, it’s in the Ballroom, so it’s in a fantastic location right there taking up a lot of space.
“It’s going to be seen by thousands and thousands of people this summer.
According to professional lip-reader Elizabeth Taunton, Charles expressed concerns about the balcony during his coronation.
She claims that the monarch said: “‘I’m not going to get too close [to the front] so the fire service have to [run in and] rescue me.
Elizabeth also claimed to The Mirror that Camilla apparently gestured to the royals next to her to “move up”.
Despite concerns, no major incident has been recorded. Express.co.uk has contacted a representative for Buckingham Palace for comment.
