Buckingham Palace Visitor Rules

The rules for a State Rooms visit are set by Royal Collection Trust and apply to every ticket, whoever sold it. Most of them are about security and the timed slot. The short answers first:

• Can you wear jeans? Yes. Royal Collection Trust says there is no formal dress code for visiting the Palace.
• Can you take a bag? Yes, up to 45 × 20 × 30 cm, carried at your side rather than on your back. Suitcases are turned away.
• Can you take photos? Not inside the Palace. In the garden at the end, yes.
• Are there toilets? Only at the end of the route, in the garden. Go before you arrive.
• How long does it take? Royal Collection Trust says to allow two to two and a half hours, and reviewers add about half an hour of queueing.
• What if you are late? Entry is by timed slot, and late arrivals cannot be admitted.

The State Rooms are open only in summer (9 July to 27 September in 2026, with summer 2027 tickets released in November), so these rules matter from July. The rest of the year the Palace is seen from outside, where none of them apply.

What to wear

Anything you are comfortable walking in. Royal Collection Trust’s practical information says there is no formal dress code required to enter the Palace, so jeans and trainers are fine, and you will see plenty of both in the queue. Formal dress codes belong to invited events such as garden parties, not to a ticketed visit.

What does matter is shoes. The route ends with a walk of about half a kilometre through the garden on gravel paths, after two hours on your feet indoors. In July and August, bring something for the sun for that last stretch, and a layer for the queue on cooler days.

Bags and security

The check at the entrance is airport-style, and stricter than most people expect:

• Bag size: a maximum of 45 × 20 × 30 cm, carried at your side. Rucksacks have to be carried, not worn.
• Refused outright: suitcases and anything oversized. Royal Collection Trust points visitors to the luggage storage at Victoria Station.
• Checked in at the door: knives, scissors, long umbrellas, aerosols and sealed alcohol.
• Not admitted at all: bicycles, scooters, skateboards and drones.
• Food and drink: no eating or drinking inside, except bottled water.
• Animals: assistance animals only.

Travelling light saves time at the check, and the check is where most of the queue builds.

Photos

Royal Collection Trust’s rule is simple: you cannot take photographs within Buckingham Palace. The rule covers video, filming and wearable cameras too, even for personal use, and it belongs to the Palace, so it applies whichever ticket you hold. The garden is the exception, and photography there is welcome. Nearly every visitor photo of the Palace you have seen was taken on the way out.

Toilets, children and pushchairs

There are no toilets inside the State Rooms route. The toilets and baby-care facilities are at the end, once you reach the garden, so go before you arrive, at the station or a café on the way.

Pushchairs cannot go into the State Rooms. They are checked in at the start and handed back at the exit, and baby carriers and hip seats can be borrowed free, subject to availability. There is a children’s audio tour, which one reviewer travelling with children credits for making the visit work.

Time, slots and the queue

Entry is by a timed slot, and the rule on lateness is strict: late arrivals cannot be admitted. Reviewers holding pre-booked tickets still describe queueing for around half an hour, mostly for security, so get there well before your slot rather than on it. Inside, Royal Collection Trust’s advice is two to two and a half hours. One reviewer finished in an hour and a half without rushing; anyone who listens to every stop on the multimedia guide will use the full time.

Access

If you need a step-free route, Royal Collection Trust’s terms say you must book directly with RCT, and complimentary companion tickets are also sold direct only. Green Park is the nearest step-free Underground station, about ten minutes’ walk away.

And does anyone actually live there?

Not the King. King Charles and Queen Camilla have used Clarence House, a few hundred metres along The Mall, as their London home since 2003, and in June 2026 the Royal Household said they will stay there after the Palace’s ten-year renovation finishes in 2027. Buckingham Palace remains the monarchy’s ceremonial and working headquarters, and royal officials said not having a resident monarch would let them open it up to more visitors and tours in future. You can still tell when the King is there: royal.uk says the Royal Standard flies only when the Sovereign is present, and the Union Flag means he is not.

Until the summer opening, the way to see the Palace is from outside, and the walk below covers it any week of the year, with the Changing of the Guard on the days it happens. The winter guide has what is open now.

Checked 22 October 2026. The dress-code statement, bag limit, security list, photography rule, pushchair and baby-carrier arrangements, toilet location, garden exit walk and “allow 2 to 2½ hours” advice are from Royal Collection Trust’s practical-information page and ticket terms. The queue times and the children’s audio tour come from visitor reviews. The Clarence House decision and the plan to widen access are from the royal accounts published in June 2026, as reported by The Irish Times and AP; the Royal Standard protocol is from royal.uk.