Buckingham Palace and other royal residences including Clarence House and Frogmore Cottage will remain closed the rest of the year due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“The safety and wellbeing of our visitors and staff are our priority,” a message posted on the Royal Collection Trust website read, explaining the decision to keep the palace closed due to the pandemic. The statement was noted by People magazine in piece published Tuesday. (RELATED: REPORT: Coachella Potentially Rescheduled To October Due To Coronavirus Fears)
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The statement went on to explain that “Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mews, The Queen’s Galleries in London and Edinburgh and Royal Collection Trust shops and ticket office are closed until further notice.”
It also said that “the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, Frogmore House and Clarence House will now not open to the public this summer, owing to the operational challenges of social distancing.” (RELATED: Pearl Jam Postpones North American Tour Over Growing Coronavirus Concerns)
“The last day of public opening was Friday, 20 March,” the statement said, before explaining the refund process for those who booked visits to those royal locations “between 21 March and 30 June 2020.”
“As The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, Frogmore House, and Clarence House will now not open at all to the public this summer, anyone who has booked to visit these venues throughout the entire duration of their proposed opening will be refunded,” the statement concluded.
It all comes after Queen Elizabeth II opened the doors to the palace and her other residences to the public 27 years ago in an effort to raise funds to deal with much-needed repairs to the castle.
Every summer some 500,000 tourists take advantage of the 10-week touring opportunity seeing inside the palace walls.